Call Me Sarah
by lowdergirl
Summary: (Broe)LBD2001-When the site is revealed, will Brady be able to save Chloe from "herself"?
1. Default Chapter

Call Me Sarah  
  
Author's Note  
  
This story begins the night of last year's Last Blast Dance. Enjoy and feedback, please!  
  
Chapter One  
  
"Chloe, we gotta hurry! The guys will be here any minute!" Belle screamed from her bathroom.  
  
Chloe smiled and shook her head. "Belle, you're telling me to hurry? I don't think you've been on time for anything in your entire life." She laughed as Belle flew out of the bathroom, still dressed in her slip with curlers in her blond hair. "Case in point."  
  
Chloe watched in amusement as Belle frantically raced around her room, pulling out drawers and knocking over the pile of clothes that had been created earlier in her mad search for the perfect dress.  
  
"What are you looking for?" Chloe asked finally.  
  
"My new earrings, they go perfectly with my dress and I can't find them!" she cried.  
  
"The ones with the."  
  
"Yes, those!" Belle answered, hands on her hips as she surveyed the disaster area she called her room.  
  
Chloe calmly walked over to Belle's wicker nightstand and picked up two small sparkly items and placed them in Belle's hand. "Here."  
  
"My earrings! I knew there was reason why I wanted you to help me get ready." Belle enthused as she gave Chloe a crushing hug. "Okay, be right back!" she cried and with a giant whoosh! she rushed back into the bathroom.  
  
Chloe just smiled to herself and examined her reflection in Belle's full- length mirror. She smoothed her dress around hr body and tried to smooth away the nervousness that fluttered in her stomach.  
  
{Why are you so nervous, Chloe? It's just a dance.} But then again, she hadn't had much luck with high school dances. Unbidden memories of last year's dance came to mind. Despite wowing everyone in the little red dress she had worn, finally earning some respect and admiration, the evening had still almost been ruined when others decided to play a cruel trick on her. She had come within a hairsbreadth of being doused in blood, ala "Carrie."  
  
But still the dance had its good times too. That night had marked the beginning of her relationship with Phillip. He had taken one look at her in that dress and she stopped being "ghoul girl", the opera-loving freak with the dark clothes and glasses. No, she was now a beautiful creature. A thing to be treasured, desired, worshipped.  
  
She remembered how it felt to dance with him, the feel of his arms wrapped around her. She remembered so many things from this last year. Their first kiss, the first time he told her he loved her, how he made her feel. Special, wanted, loved. She hadn't been loved in a long time and it felt wonderful.  
  
For that reason she stayed with Phillip. She stayed with him through the not-so-good times. Finding out about the bet, dealing with his out of control jealousy, her false rape accusation.  
  
Chloe paused, remembering that night. The night she and Phillip almost made love. They had been dating on and off again for most of the year. That night she had been especially upset with her mother in particular and her life in general. But Phillip soothed her with his talk of how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. Before she really knew what was happening, her clothes lay on the floor in the barn and she and Phillip were getting ready to make love.  
  
It had felt good at the time, though she was scared of her first time. It had felt so good to just run away and hide in the arms of the boy who loved her. Yes, it had felt good. However, she had been more than a little relieved when Phillip's supposedly dead father Victor walked in on them.  
  
Phillip's lies gave her the excuse she needed to lash out at him and back out of her present situation. She was so angry with him for lying about his father's death. But secretly, she was angrier with herself, for letting herself get so carried away. For almost giving herself to someone she didn't love.  
  
{No, of course I love him.} she told her reflection in the mirror. {I wouldn't be with him if I didn't love him. I wouldn't have almost made love to him if I.}  
  
Her thought trailed off unfinished as she thought again of that night. Later that night. She had run from Phillip's barn - angry, upset, and half- naked. She wandered the streets of Salem for hours in a daze of blurry visions and memories that didn't make sense. She had felt like she was on the verge of remembering something forgotten during one of her "dark times", periods of her life that she has no memory of.  
  
Faces, names and places whirled in her mind, things she had done, people she had known. And one last horrifying vision of different men touching her, kissing her, and.  
  
"Chloe?" her mother's arrival in her car had startled her out of her trance, her recovered memories quickly flying away like leaves in the wind.  
  
Her mother took in Chloe's disheveled, distraught state and came to an immediate conclusion.  
  
"Chloe, were you raped?"  
  
Chloe stared at her mother with wide unfocused eyes. And told her the truth.  
  
It was only after her mind had cleared, after Phillip's arrest, that she realized what she had done. Before she knew it, she was trapped against her will in a hospital examining room. Trapped until she was rescued by an unlikely hero, Brady Black.  
  
Chloe frowned as she turned away from the mirror. Once again she was thinking about Brady. She still didn't know what to make of him, or how exactly she felt towards him. She only knew that her thoughts of late seemed to center around him.  
  
Their friendship, if one could even call it that, was hardly normal. Yet, despite their frequent heated and intense arguments, he was quickly becoming a person whom she treasured in her life.  
  
Chloe shook her head. {Why am I thinking about this?} A doorbell below interrupted her thoughts. Belle flew out of the bathroom, hair done and fully dressed.  
  
"They're here! They're here!" she cried as she raced around the room in a frantic search for her shoes. She found them under her bed and finally they were ready to make their grand entrance down the penthouse stairs.  
  
Chloe stopped dead at the last step, her breath caught in her throat. Lord, he was gorgeous. The tuxedo fit perfectly showing off his fine, athletic physique. Chloe tore her gaze from his incredible blue eyes and forced words out of her suddenly dry mouth.  
  
"Brady! Um, are you going to the dance too?" she stammered, a pink blush stealing into her cheeks.  
  
"Yeah," he answered sheepishly. "I'm chaperoning with Nicole Walker. In fact, I'm going to pick her up now. You guys have fun." He called as he walked past Shawn and Phillip toward the door. "Shawn, uh, not too much fun, got it?" Brady asked with just a hint of a threat in his rich voice.  
  
"Uh. Got it." Shawn stammered.  
  
Brady turned back around and stole one last look at the ladies. "Tink, Chloe," he addressed them with a lingering gaze at Chloe. "I will see you at the dance." And he turned and left.  
  
Phillip frowned slightly. He hadn't missed the looks between Chloe and Brady. "He's going to the dance? Brady, a chaperone?" he asked Belle, his voice almost accusatory.  
  
"Don't look at me, I just found out." Belle protested innocently.  
  
"Well, I guess it's no big deal if he wants to hang out at a high school dance. Come on ladies," he offered Chloe his arm, "my limo awaits."  
  
Brady roared down the highway in his van on the way to the Kiriakis mansion where Nicole lived with his grandfather, Victor. "I cannot believe I am going to a high school dance." He groaned in horror. Brady absolutely detested these kinds of things. It had been bad enough the first time around in boarding school, but now that he was out of school it was even worse.  
  
"So why am I doing this?" he asked himself. {For Chloe.} came the unspoken answer. He couldn't explain it, he just had a strong urgent feeling that something horrible was going to happen to her tonight. And he was going to stop it. No matter what.  
  
"Okay, that's the last one." The curly haired brunette whispered.  
  
"Are, are you sure we should do this?" a hesitant girl with ash-blond hair asked.  
  
"Don't be such a wuss, Lockhart." Jan Spears sneered from her position behind the slide projector. "Our plan is going to work, Mimi. Tonight, Ghoul Girl is going to get exactly what's coming to her." 


	2. Chapter Two

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Two  
  
"Having a good time, Chloe?"  
  
"Yes, Phillip." {for the thousandth time tonight.} Chloe thought as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  
  
She and Phillip were slow dancing on Salem High's crowded dance floor. Phillip tightened his arm around her waist and stroked her silky long hair. Chloe suddenly and inexplicably felt a strong desire to break out of his grasp.  
  
{Chloe, don't be silly.} She chided herself.  
  
Phillip looked at her with his questioning blue eyes. "It's just, you seem a bit.distant tonight. Like your mind is millions of miles away."  
  
Chloe flashed a bright smile to reassure him. "I'm fine. It's just, you know, me and dances." She looked around the gym where she and Phillip seemed to be the center of attention and the focus of every conversation. "I feel like I'm on display." She explained seriously.  
  
Phillip grinned widely and pulled her closer to him. "Let them stare, baby. They're just jealous of what we have."  
  
{And what DO we have, Phillip?} Chloe questioned silently. Suddenly her gaze was drawn to a corner of the gym where Brady was dancing with Nicole. She smiled as she noticed the smoothness of his movements. He had certainly come a long way. Barely six months ago he was confined to a wheelchair, paralyzed by an accidental shooting. Six months of painful, intensive physical therapy and he was now walking, and dancing, without even a cane for support. Chloe felt a twinge of pride at all he had accomplished. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and he had earned it.  
  
So why was she so angry with him? The longer she watched the two of them dance, the angrier she got. Could it be, she was jealous? {That's absurd!} she laughed inwardly. {Besides, everyone knows Nicole is involved with Brady's grandfather, Victor. But does she HAVE to dance so close to Brady?!}  
  
She turned her eyes from the revolting display and focused her attention on her neglected boyfriend. {Stop thinking about that infuriating Brady Black. Phillip is the one you love.} she told herself firmly. She smiled deeply at Phillip and laid her head on his shoulder as they danced the night away.  
  
"You know, I would have done better tonight with a department store mannequin."  
  
Brady shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at Nicole. "I'm sorry, what?"  
  
"My point exactly." She commented dryly. She placed her hands on her leather-clad hips. "Could you BE more inattentive? I mean, I can count on one hand the number of words you've said to me all evening."  
  
Brady grimaced. She was right. He had been a horrible date. "I'm sorry Nicole. I've had my mind on other things."  
  
"Really? I hadn't noticed." She stated wryly. "Let me guess. Chloe Lane?" She questioned with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.  
  
His head snapped up at that name. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I may be young, Brady, but I wasn't born yesterday. Your eyes have been glued to her from the moment we arrived."  
  
Brady shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just concerned, that's all. I'm afraid something's going to happen to her tonight. She hasn't had a lot of luck with high school dances." He explained casually.  
  
Nicole's expression told him that she wasn't buying it. "Uh huh. And you care because."  
  
"I care because she's a good friend of my little sister. And that's it." He told her firmly.  
  
"If you say so." Nicole shrugged. "Listen, I'm feeling strangely generous tonight, so I'll give you some free advice. If you want her, go after her. Make a move. Do something. 'Cause the kindergarten tactics you've been employing so far aren't going to cut it with a girl like her."  
  
"Kindergarten tactics?" he raised his eyebrows in question.  
  
"Yeah, fighting with her, calling her names? What are you, five? I'm surprised you haven't pushed her down or pulled her pigtails."  
  
Brady brushed aside Nicole's disturbingly accurate observations. There was no way he was interested in Chloe. She's just a kid. "This conversation is over. I'm going to get a drink. Want anything?" he asked coolly.  
  
"They don't serve alcohol at these things, do they?"  
  
"No, they don't."  
  
"Pity. I'd love a beer right now. Just get me some punch."  
  
Brady walked over to the refreshments table, Nicole's words echoing in his mind. {Why do you care, Brady?} he asked himself. It wasn't like him. He'd lived a sad, lonely life, much of it at boarding school away from his family. Those years had made him tough, independent, bitter. Caring about others just wasn't something he did.  
  
There were, of course a few exceptions. His father. Belle. And now Chloe Lane. {I must be getting soft. Even Marlena's starting to grow on me.} He shook his head in bemused wonder at the changes that seemed to be taking place inside of him. He still didn't know why he cared about Chloe; he only knew that he couldn't let her be hurt.  
  
So he had been on edge the entire evening, looking for any possible threat against Chloe. But nothing had happened and the evening was quickly drawing to a close. {Maybe I was wrong.} He thought as he watched Chloe and Phillip dance surrounded by admiring couples. Just as he was turning to head back to Nicole, a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.  
  
He saw Jan Spears and Mimi Lockhart fiddling with the slide projector in a secluded corner of the gym. Mimi looked up and cast a quick, almost suspicious glance around the room before going back to her business.  
  
{Huh. That's interesting.} Brady thought as he watched the girls' behavior. {I wonder what they're doing. I doubt seriously that they belong to the A\V club and neither of them have ever been huge fans of Chloe's. In fact, if I remember correctly, that Jan girl was responsible for rigging the bucket of chicken blood to fall on Chloe at last year's dance.}  
  
The girls finally sneaked away from the slide projector and Brady stealthily walked over to it. He had gotten halfway through the slides when the gym lights came on signaling the crowning portion of the dance. As Mr. Woods got everyone's attention, Brady quickly left the projector, not wanting to be caught near it. His stomach twisted in knots as he wondered what those two girls had in store for Chloe. {Nothing you can do now. Just be ready to help, somehow.}  
  
Phillip and Chloe were again crowned King and Queen. As they danced together, a slide show played memorable scenes from that year. Friendly faces smiled and waved on the large screen. It was altogether innocent, and Brady began to relax.  
  
He jumped though when a hand clasped down on his shoulder.  
  
He smiled at the man next to him. "Hi, Dad."  
  
"Hey, son." John Black greeted his son. He was also chaperoning along with Hope Brady. John studied his son's face and raised an eyebrow in concern. "What's wrong? You look like you're expecting a bomb to drop. Relax, it's just a dance."  
  
"I'll relax when this is all over.. Oh My God." He exclaimed lowly as he stared dumbfounded at the screen. The music had stopped abruptly and a horrified silence filled the packed gymnasium. No one moved. No one talked. No one breathed. They were still trying to believe their stunned eyes.  
  
Chloe and Phillip stopped dancing, aware that the music had stopped. "I wonder what's going on?" Chloe whispered to Phillip. She looked back at him in wonder when he didn't answer. Phillip stood stone still, eyes riveted to the projector screen, his lips compressed into a thin line.  
  
Chloe looked up at the screen and froze in shock. There her nude body was displayed on a giant screen with a lurid caption underneath that read simply: www. operagirl.net. The picture had been taken while she was in the school shower and strategically placed soap bubbles covered up the vital parts of her anatomy, but the implication was still there. This pornographic website was making money off of nude pictures of her, pictures taken against her will, without her knowing. Her mind reeled in shock. Who would do such a thing to her?  
  
Slowly the gym was beginning to come to life. Amused whispers and soft laughter floated around the room. But Chloe was aware of none of it. She stood, eyes frozen on the screen. She felt horribly violated, felt hundreds of eyes burning into her flesh. And she wondered why it all seemed so familiar. Whispered words and hidden memories flittered through her mind. {No!} she struggled to maintain a tenuous grip on her sanity.  
  
Brady's heart went out to Chloe, for the pain so evident on her face, in her large blue eyes. {I should have stopped this.} Guilt tore at him for failing in his self-appointed task of protecting her.  
  
"I certainly wouldn't have expected this from her." John stated thoughtfully.  
  
"She didn't do it, Dad. She never would have."  
  
John squeezed his son's shoulder. "I believe you, son. Let's just pray that others do to."  
  
Chloe looked over at Phillip. Her rock, her support. He would find out who had done this to her and he would make them pay. She felt strengthened to see the fury written across his features, and began to feel just a little sorry for the culprits of this horrible crime. She ignored the growing chants of "ghoul girl" and tried to gain perspective on what had happened. It was just another stupid prank. That's all. She placed her hand on Phillip's arm to try to calm him down.  
  
"Come on, Phillip, let's go. It doesn't mean anything." She said reassuringly. She was floored when he viciously shook her hand off. "Phillip?" she questioned.  
  
"So this was the secret job you wouldn't tell me about. Selling your body on the Internet?!" he sneered harshly at her.  
  
"Phillip, what?" Certainly, he didn't think that she had done this?  
  
"I would have given you all the money you could ever want. I LOVED you Chloe! But this is how you repay me? You embarrass me by flaunting yourself like some two-dollar WHORE!"  
  
The blood drained from Chloe's face and the room began to spin. She was in shock, his words cut her to her very core. She couldn't even defend herself, she could only stand and listen as he berated her with a verbal assault that left her breathless and feeling worthless. Finally, when he'd run out of horrid things to call her, he turned with a dismissive wave of his hand and walked away.  
  
Leaving her alone. Alone in a sea of laughing, mocking people. They seemed to surround her as they pointed accusatory fingers at her, harsh laughter echoing in the gym. Rhythmic chants. Ghoul Girl. Ghoul Girl. Ghoul Girl.  
  
Chloe desperately searched the crowd of hateful strangers for one friendly face. Where were her friends? Was there no one who cared? No one who would help her? Finally, her eyes found Belle and Shawn, shock written across their features. Shock and.doubt. Did they also believe that she was guilty? {No!} she turned away from them. They wouldn't help her, she could see it in their eyes.  
  
Brady! Where was Brady? He'd help her. He always seemed to be there when she needed him. Where was he? Relief surged through her when she saw his vibrant blue eyes standing out in the crowd. She could see that he believed her. He would help her. He wouldn't leave her.  
  
She was vaguely aware of Mr. Woods trying to bring order to the chaos in the gym. "Who's responsible for this?!" he yelled over the crowd as he pointed to the slide.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Come on, someone knows something. Who did this?" He yelled louder.  
  
Brady saw a smug Jan and a frightened Mimi standing in a far corner. He stepped forward to reveal them and what he had seen.  
  
"Brady did it!" Kevin yelled. "I saw him earlier, messing with the projector."  
  
Brady tried to protest but the damage had been done. He could see the pain in Chloe's eyes.  
  
"Brady," she whispered as silent tears slid out of her eyes. "You did this?" She felt a large hole open up beneath her in the floor. She couldn't believe it. Brady had done this to her. The one person she had counted on and he had betrayed her. She had no one left.  
  
She looked around the gym and saw all the hateful, sneering faces, heard their mocking insults ringing in her ear. {I'm alone.} she realized with a defeated slump of her shoulders. {always alone. always alone.} She stared at the floor in front of her, eyes unfocused, unblinking. {it's too much.} the child inside her cried. {too much. I don't wanna play no more. can I go to sleep now?}  
  
From deep inside her came another voice. Deeper, stronger. {Yes, Chloe. Go to sleep. I will take care of everything.} And so Chloe's consciousness faded into darkness unaware of the people who called her name. 


	3. Chapter Three

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Three  
  
"Chloe! Chloe, can you hear me? Come on, snap out of it. Chloe?" his panicked voice pleaded.  
  
But her eyes just stared right through him, oblivious of Brady's presence or the stunned people who gathered around her. Brady turned to his father, silently begging for his help. John stepped up to Chloe as Belle and Shawn came running up.  
  
"Dad, what's wrong with her?" Belle asked, concerned for her best friend. Her shock over the slides had finally worn off when she saw that Chloe was upset and in trouble.  
  
"I don't know, Sweetie." John replied absentmindedly as he studied Chloe. He took her face in his hands and peered into her large, unblinking eyes.  
  
Chloe stood completely still, her back ramrod straight. Her arms were plastered to her sides and her face was expressionless. Just the sight of her in this condition chilled the spectators and the earlier laughter and excited gossip fell away to be replaced by an eerie silence. The students felt racked with guilt, similar to laughing at someone who has just fallen, only to find that they are seriously hurt. It was the same now. It was clear that something was very wrong with Chloe.  
  
Mr. Woods shook his head, saddened and disappointed by the behavior of his students. As a teacher he thought he had seen it all. The cruelty that the students seemed capable of inflicting on others had ceased to surprise him. Until tonight. He grabbed the microphone with a heavy sigh and addressed the crowd of students.  
  
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, letting his emotions get the better of him for the moment. "Have you learned nothing from the events of recent years? Have you forgotten Columbine? Or the countless other acts of school violence that occur so frequently we don't even hear about them anymore? How could you do this to another person?" he asked quietly.  
  
Silence fell over the shamed crowd. One student finally spoke up.  
  
"Mr. Woods, we didn't do this." She protested.  
  
"No, but you didn't stop it. And you didn't intervene on behalf of a fellow student who was obviously in distress. Instead, you laughed. You took pleasure in her pain and suffering. Well, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Because the dance is now ended. I want you to go home and spend summer vacation thinking about what happened tonight, and how you can prevent things like this from happening. Because if I feel that there is even the slightest possibility of anything like this occurring again, I will cancel ALL of next year's dances, games, and all other events, and your Senior Year will certainly.suck. Now goodnight." Mr. Woods finished his speech as the gym lights came back on and the disappointed crowd of students silently filed out the gym door. He walked off the stage and called to Kevin and Susan.  
  
"Let's see if we can find out who did this." He told them with a gleam in his eye.  
  
Meanwhile John was having no luck in rousing Chloe. Belle whipped out her tiny cell phone from her sequined purse. "I'm going to call Dr. Wesley."  
  
"Good idea, Izzy." John stepped back from Chloe who continued to stare in silence, unmoving. "I'm going to call Marlena." He said as he pulled a sleek black phone from the pocket of his dress slacks.  
  
Hope gently caressed Chloe's face, hoping for some response. "Poor thing. Who would do something like this to her?" She turned to Brady. "Brady, that boy said that he had seen you near the projector?" Hope asked, not to accuse him, but to get some answers.  
  
Brady tore his gaze away from Chloe's stiff body and unseeing eyes. He sighed deeply. "I saw Jan Spears and Mimi Lockhart messing with the slides earlier. I went to see what they had done, but got interrupted by the ceremony."  
  
"Mimi?" Belle questioned as she clicked her phone shut. "No, she couldn't have. I know she doesn't like Chloe, but she would never have done this to anyone." She protested with tears in her wide blue eyes. She refused to believe that Mimi could be responsible for such a heinous prank.  
  
"Well, she did." A voice behind Belle replied. She turned around to find Kevin, Susan and Mr. Woods coming up to them. "I hacked into the site (man that was fast). I'm sorry, Belle, but that website account was set up in Mimi's name. She's responsible for this."  
  
"With a little help from Jan, no doubt." Susan put in dryly. She herself had been the victim many times of Jan's unique brand of cruelty.  
  
Kevin went on to explain his role in the prank. He described how Mimi and Jan convinced him to rig a science lab explosion that would spill horrible smelling chemicals all over Chloe's hair and clothes, forcing her to shower in the school's shower room.  
  
"Apparently, though I didn't know it, they had installed a hidden camera to record her in the showers, and that's where they got their pictures from. The website is set up to give you a preview screen showing censored pictures like this (he pointed to the slide that was still showing on the overhead screen.) In order to view the nude pictures, you have to then pay money to the site. Guys, this website has been up for several months now, receiving thousands of hits a day. That's a lot of people who have seen those pictures." Kevin finished.  
  
Brady sighed and ran his fingers through his unruly blond hair. So the prank ran much deeper than he thought. It wasn't just humiliation in front of her schoolmates. No, thousands of people had seen her naked body. Brady shuddered to think of the type of people who might have visited that site, the type of crazed perverts who may have leered at Chloe's body.  
  
His stomach twisted with pain and guilt. Not only had he not prevented her humiliation tonight, he also hadn't stepped in when Phillip began to berate her. He had stepped forward to intervene, but his father had held him back, saying that they needed to work through this by themselves.  
  
And Brady had foolishly listened. He had reasoned that Phillip's cruel words would invoke a response from Chloe's temper and maybe she'd finally get rid of him after seeing his true colors. But he hadn't expected this. This total and complete emotional breakdown. No, it wasn't a breakdown; it was a shutdown. Like her mind, her personality had just.shut off. And if that was the case, how could they hope to bring her back?  
  
Brady was shaken out of his thoughts by a new arrival into the gym. {What the HELL is he doing here?} He simply glared at Phillip who casually strolled through the now empty gym.  
  
"Hey, where is everybody?" he asked as he looked around the gym. "I came back to get my coat." His eyes fell on Chloe's rigid form. "Hey, what's wrong with her?" he asked slightly concerned.  
  
"Like you care." Brady bit out through clenched teeth. His muscles tensed. God, how he wanted to pound on Phillip. But right now there were more important matters on his mind. Uncle Phil could wait. He focused back on Chloe. "If you loved her half as much as you say you did, then you would have known that she could never do this. You would have known that someone else did this to her." He said simply and sadly, not even looking at his uncle.  
  
"And what makes you such an expert on Chloe?" Phillip asked with blatant jealousy. He still believed that Chloe had set up the website to make money, but was incensed at the implications that Brady knew her better than he did.  
  
Brady's response stopped dead on his tongue as he saw Chloe's eyes flutter. She blinked several times and adopted a more normal breathing rhythm. She lost some the rigidity in her stance but then straightened back in a posture that made her seem inches taller than she had been. She slowly looked around the gym as she took in her surroundings.  
  
As her gaze fell on the people who surrounded her, Brady noticed a hard edge to her features that wasn't there before. A coldness in her blue eyes. A toughness in her stance.  
  
"Chloe?" Brady called to her.  
  
She didn't answer but instead her eyes focused on the giant screen above her. She simply stared at the screen for a few moments, causing others to fear that she had fallen back into her trance.  
  
"Shut that thing off!" Brady yelled, pointing to the projector. He turned back around to face Chloe, to gauge her response to the picture.  
  
Her face took on a contemplative expression. She crossed her arms against her chest and cocked her head slightly to the side. Slowly, her face cracked to reveal a slight smirk.  
  
The spectators frowned; they hadn't expected this reaction. They waited quietly and just observed Chloe's actions.  
  
Chloe tapped her full lips with a manicured forefinger as she studied the screen. "I must say. That is some nice photography. Captured all my best sides, doncha think?" She quipped with a wink at Phillip who had taken a position beside her. Her voice sounded strange to everyone's ears. It seemed to be deeper, tougher, with a harsh quality that certainly wasn't there before.  
  
Phillip was floored by Chloe's cavalier statement. He flew off in a rage. "I knew it!!" he yelled at her, his face an unattractive shade of blotched red. "You aren't even trying to deny it. You're proud of yourself like some common slut. You're a cheap whore!"  
  
Chloe simply cocked a bemused eyebrow at Phillip's rant.  
  
He continued. "I can't believe I ever went out with a FREAK like you! GHOUL GIRL! SLUT!" he spat at her.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes and drew herself to her full height. "Phillip. Right?" she addressed him. He paused momentarily, confusion written on his features and then WHAM! Out of the blue she cold-cocked him with a left hook that sent him flying backwards to CRASH! into the refreshment table. Chloe smiled to see the boy lying on the floor, covered in red punch, out cold.  
  
She shook her hand and winced at the momentary pain. "Haven't done that in a while." She remarked to herself.  
  
Her friends were dumbfounded by her new behavior. "Chloe?" Belle called.  
  
The girl they knew as Chloe threw her hand up in Belle's face. "Hang on a sec, willya? It's been awhile." She stated with a frown as she tried to sort things in her mind.  
  
She looked down at her clothes and frowned in disgust. "What the F*CK am I wearing?! I swear, the girl has no taste in clothes." She cast a satisfied look at Phillip where he lay sprawled on the floor. "Or sorry- ass loser boyfriends."  
  
"Um. Chloe?" Belle asked again, totally shocked by Chloe's attitude.  
  
The girl finally looked at Belle, as if noticing her for the first time.  
  
"You aren't Chloe, are you?" Kevin said quietly. A soft gasp of surprise rang in the gym. What did he say?  
  
Chloe gifted him with a cold smile. "Give the geek a gold star. No. I'm not Chloe. She's uh, gone on a little vacation. I'm head man 'til she gets back. IF she gets back."  
  
Brady looked at Chloe completely stunned. He could not wrap his brain around the turn of events. It seemed impossible, and yet, it was obvious that the girl in front of him wasn't the Chloe that he knew. She was someone else entirely.  
  
"If you aren't Chloe," he asked softly, "then who are you?"  
  
She shrugged simply. "Call me Sarah. But don't worry bout memorizin' the name. I seriously doubt that I'm gonna be spendin' much time with you losers." She sneered.  
  
She shook the pins out of her hair and let it fall down. "Hey, quick question. What year is it?"  
  
"Uh. It's June 2001." Belle stammered.  
  
"That long, huh?" Sarah looked down appreciatively at the body she now wore. "I'd noticed a few changes." She commented with a wink in Brady's direction.  
  
"Alright. Well, nice meeting you all." Sarah remarked in a tone that implied otherwise. She turned and headed toward the gymnasium exit.  
  
"Later." She called out without a second look back. "Or not. Whatever."  
  
And then she was gone, leaving a stunned crowd in her wake. 


	4. Chapter Four

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Sarah exited the gym and stepped out into the warm summer night air. A light breeze caressed her hair carrying with it the faint scent of honeysuckle. But Sarah paid no attention to her pleasant surroundings. Her mind was on only one thing.  
  
Sarah smiled to herself as she looked around. She'd been asleep for a long time and now that she was finally awake - she was raring for some action. She walked across the nearly deserted parking lot resembling a sleek black panther on the prowl. She stopped when she noticed the black BMW and the people milling around it.  
  
Jason Masters took another deep draught from his flask and passed it on to his buddy. "Man oh man, that was priceless!" he laughed. "I have played some pranks in my life but nothing compared to this!"  
  
His two friends agreed heartily while downing the alcohol in Jason's flask. "No doubt about that. Do you know who did it?"  
  
Sarah squatted behind the Beemer and listened with great interest to their conversation.  
  
Jason's face cracked into a proud smirk. "Well, I ain't saying nothing, but Jan was bragging to me earlier about something she and Mimi had planned for Ghoul Girl."  
  
{Ghoul Girl.} Sarah thought. {That's what that Phillip kid called me. I guess it's their lame idea of an insult.} Sarah rolled her eyes. {Oh Boohoo. They hurt my feelings.} She stifled her sarcastic laugh. {What f*cking morons.} She turned her attention back to their conversation.  
  
One of Jason's friends was talking. "You know, I expected this of Spears, but Lockhart? That surprises me."  
  
Jason laughed. "Well, Jan can be very.persuasive. I doubt Mimi had much of a choice."  
  
{Great, now I have names.} Sarah thought. {Jan Spears and Mimi Lockhart. Well, I'll take care of them later. Right now, I want to party.}  
  
Jason took another swig from the metallic flask and then promptly spit out the fiery liquid. He sputtered, shocked to see Chloe Lane coming up to him.  
  
Sarah stopped in front of the three boys. She ignored the other two. She only had eyes for Jason. She stared at him unabashedly, a suggestive smile pulling at her lips.  
  
Jason was momentarily taken aback by Chloe's uncharacteristic boldness but hid his confusion under his cocky attitude. "Well well well." He smirked insolently. "If it isn't Chloe Lane. I must say, I didn't expect to see so much of you after. well, seeing so much of you." His cronies laughed at his little joke.  
  
He had expected to get a reaction out of Chloe, but not this reaction. She simply smiled and spoke in a husky whisper. "Well, if you play your cards right, then maybe you'll see a lot more."  
  
Jason swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He'd never told anyone this but ever since Chloe's unveiling at last year's LBD in that little red dress, he'd secretly desired her. She inhabited his dreams, but not even his wildest ones compared to this moment. His eyes raked over her figure with a will of their own, the slide pictures permanently burned in his memory. He cleared his throat and tried to maintain his cool.  
  
"You serious?" he asked casually.  
  
She smiled that little half-smirk of her. "Very." For effect she ran her wet tongue over her luscious, full lips. "But I don't do crowds" she turned her gaze to his friends, finally acknowledging their presence. "So maybe your friends can be.somewhere else?"  
  
Jason snapped his head to the side, motioning for his buddies to leave. His friends immediately got the hint. "Hey, we're gone, man. We'll uh.catch up to ya later." And with a sly wink, they were both gone.  
  
Jason's pulse began to race. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. For all his big talk and cocky manner, he was very much the virgin. He rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants legs. {C'mon Jase, play it cool. She wants you.}  
  
He gifted her with a sexy grin. "So, what did you have in mind?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.  
  
Her blue eyes flashed with danger and excitement. "Right now, I'm just looking for a little fun. I'm betting you know some fun places."  
  
"I know a few." He replied coolly.  
  
Sarah snaked up closer to him and placed her hand on his chest. "You show me yours," she whispered in his ear as her hand smoothly dropped to rest firmly on the crotch of his dress slacks, "And I'll show you mine."  
  
Meanwhile, the stunned occupants of the gym were finally coming to life. Shocked murmurs and quiet exclamations echoed in the empty gym.  
  
Belle spoke up from her position in Shawn's arms. "We gotta do something. We gotta help her." She turned her questioning blue eyes to her father.  
  
"I'm sorry Belle, but this is way beyond me. I only hope your mother can help."  
  
As if on cue, both Marlena and Craig entered the gym. They both looked around the deserted building. "Where is everyone?" Marlena wondered aloud.  
  
"Never mind that, where's Chloe?" Dr. Wesley asked the small group. "I got a call from Belle saying that something had happened to her?" he looked at Belle for the answer to his unspoken question.  
  
John took over and began to explain to his wife and Dr. Wesley what had occurred. "Some kids tonight played a cruel prank on Chloe. They set up a.well, maybe it would be best if I just showed you." And moving over to the slide projector, he flicked it on.  
  
Craig gasped in horror as he saw his stepdaughter's nearly naked body displayed on the large screen above him. He listened in horrified shock as John told him everything: the lab explosion, the camera in the shower, and finally the pornographic website that had been making money off of the pictures.  
  
Craig finally tore his gaze from the sickening sight. "Do you know who did this?" he asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"Yes. The website was set up in Mimi Lockhart's name, but it looks like a girl named Jan Spears was the mastermind."  
  
Craig whirled around to face them. "Mimi?" he asked, his eyes landing on Belle's. "But, we took her in, her and her family. We gave them a home when they didn't have one. How could she."  
  
Belle grimaced, feeling somehow responsible for her friend's behavior. "I don't know, Dr. Wesley. I never would have thought her capable of this. I'm so sorry." She told him sincerely.  
  
"It's not your fault, Belle." Craig reassured her.  
  
"Unfortunately," John interrupted, "that's not the worst of it." He turned his attention to his wife. "The worst of it is the reason why I called you." He began slowly, trying to order his thoughts to make the most sense of the bizarre scene that they had all witnessed. "Chloe had a bad reaction to seeing the pictures. Understandably so."  
  
"How did she react?" Marlena questioned as she mentally kicked into therapist-mode. She too wondered why Chloe wasn't in the gym.  
  
"Basically, she didn't - react that is. She just.shutdown, for lack of a better description. It's like she went into a trance, her body was stiff as a board, her eyes unfocused, unblinking. They just stared right through us."  
  
Marlena made mental notes of John's descriptions, several theories already coming to mind.  
  
"She was like this for several minutes and everything we tried to bring her out of it failed. It's like we weren't even there. Then finally, she seemed to snap out of it and she seemed okay, but very different."  
  
"Different how?"  
  
Belle spoke up. "It was weird. She acted differently, talked differently; she even looked a little different, if that makes sense. She was like a completely different person." She trailed off quietly.  
  
"In fact, she claimed to be someone else, someone named Sarah." John continued. "She wasn't here long when she just left, walked out those doors, not even ten minutes ago. We were all kind of in shock, by what had happened, we just watched her leave."  
  
Marlena digested this information thoughtfully. {An alternate personality. Hmmm}  
  
While the others had been relating the events to Marlena, Brady had simply paced the gym, his thoughts solely on Chloe. He could not believe that they had just let her leave like that, in her condition. He worried about her out there all alone in the state she was in. He wondered if "Sarah" would even know her way around town and envisioned her lost somewhere, frightened.  
  
Brady snapped himself out of his thoughts. They needed to take action. He looked at the others in the gym - they were all debating about what to do, how to bring her personality back. He turned toward the exit.  
  
"I'm going to find her." He scowled angrily when Marlena moved to bar his way. He was not in the mood to deal with his stepmother right now.  
  
"Brady," she tried to explain, "alternate personalities are usually highly unstable, mentally and emotionally."  
  
"Yeah and she's out there like that!" he yelled, barely controlled panic visible on his face.  
  
Marlena placed a comforting hand on his tense shoulder. Brady was surprised to see the genuine concern in her eyes. "Just be careful, okay?" she said quietly, calmly. "We don't know her mental state - the slightest thing could set her off. If you find her (at Brady's determined look) okay, when you find her, don't push her. Just be calm, cool and notify me immediately. Okay?"  
  
He nodded his understanding and left the building. Marlena turned to the others. "I'm going to contact the orphanage where Chloe lived."  
  
Craig looked at her in question. "Why?"  
  
She bit her lip in thought. "This isn't the first time that "Sarah" has come out. They must know something about her. Why she's here, what she wants, how to stop her."  
  
Brady stood in the deserted lot searching for any sign of Chloe. He sighed heavily, his stomach twisted in worry. There was no one here. No one except.  
  
Brady walked toward the two boys who were hanging out under a lamppost. They were so engrossed in their drunken conversation that they didn't even notice his stealthy approach.  
  
The first boy laughed. "Oh man, Jason is SOOO gonna get some tonight."  
  
The second boy joined in the laughter. "Yeah, but come on - Ghoul Girl?"  
  
Brady's ears snapped up at the mention of that cruel nickname. {They are talking about Chloe.} he realized, feeling nauseous.  
  
"Hey, a score's a score." The first guy replied. "Besides, you saw the slides. I wouldn't mind getting a piece of that ass myself." He whistled appreciatively.  
  
Brady couldn't restrain his righteous anger any longer. He tackled the two boys, knocking one to the ground and grabbing the other before the boy even knew what had happened. Brady punched the punk savagely in the nose.  
  
"The only thing you'll be getting tonight is a piece of my foot up your ass. Now where is she?" Brady asked, feeling dark anger wash over him. He hated to think of what might be happening to Chloe in her vulnerable state.  
  
"Wh-where's who?" the boy stuttered, more terrified than he'd ever been in his entire life.  
  
Brady pulled back his fist, preparing to ram it down the guy's throat. "I'm giving you one last chance to not lose teeth. Where is Chloe Lane? Ghoul Girl!"  
  
"She's with Jason!" the boy cried, tears spilling out of his eyes.  
  
"WHERE?!" Brady bellowed.  
  
"I don't know. He probably took her to Look-Out Point - that's where he takes all the girls." The kid whimpered.  
  
Brady dropped him to land in an undignified heap on the pavement. He ran to his van, ignoring the shooting pain from his legs that were still recovering from his earlier paralysis. Keying the ignition, he floored the vehicle out of the lot and in the direction of Look-Out Point.  
  
"Hang on, Chloe. I'm coming." 


	5. Chapter Five

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Sarah examined her reflection in the store mirror. "Perfect. I'll take it. No need to bag it, I'm going to wear it out." She looked around the dark, empty store and smiled. "Gee, it's a shame there's no one here to take my money." She whistled a jaunty tune and headed toward the back door of the store. She smiled again as she heard the wailing sirens in the distance. She stealthily crept through the door that she had broken open and disappeared into the neighboring shadows.  
  
"This is counterculture." A gravelly voice chanted loudly in the room. "From the underground. Eternal revolution, this is how it sounds." Sarah looked around in interest at the bodies that were dancing and sweating to KMFDM.  
  
All the eyes in the smoky club were riveted to her the second she walked through the door. She was a vision in head to toe black and their eyes traced the outline of her figure. Thick-soled black boots peeked out from under skintight black leather pants. Her black push up bra was visible under her very sheer red lace top. A large silver cross dangled in the cleft of her breasts, matching the large silver hoops that she wore. Her hair was down and straight, and black sunglasses completed the ensemble.  
  
She smirked as she checked out the dark club. Hard alternative rock blasted from the wall-to-wall speakers and a large crowd of men and women, mostly students from Salem U, were gyrating to the heavy beat. {Finally, my kinda scene.} Sarah thought, looking out at the alternative crowd. She wasted no time and jumped onto the packed dance floor. It wasn't long before she had company.  
  
Brady had been driving around Look-Out Point for over thirty minutes when finally he spotted him. He'd been to enough of Salem High's basketball games to recognize Jason Masters from a distance. Brady didn't stop to wonder why Jason was walking down the dark, deserted street, but instead immediately pulled to the side of the road.  
  
Jason jumped nervously when the mysterious van came to a screeching halt not even a couple of feet away from him. The door flew open and he recognized the driver as Belle Black's older brother Brady.  
  
"Where is she?" Brady darkly demanded.  
  
Jason held the handkerchief to his nose and turned puzzled eyes toward Brady. "Who?"  
  
Brady exited the van with a heavy sigh. He didn't have time for this. He stopped inches in front of Jason and gifted him with his meanest scowl. "Chloe Lane." He replied simply.  
  
Jason wiped his nose and Brady could see the blood streaming steadily from it. He quickly took in the kid's dirty and ragged appearance and vaguely wondered what had happened to him. Jason simply rolled his eyes. "How the HELL should I know where that freak is?!" he spit out angrily.  
  
Brady simply grabbed Jason's tuxedo front and lifted him bodily off the ground. "I know you were with her. Now where is she?"  
  
Jason struggled uselessly against Brady's superior strength. "She took off, nearly an hour ago."  
  
Brady let the punk go and Jason clamped down on his nose with the linen, trying vainly to stop the bleeding. "What happened?" Brady asked.  
  
"The b*tch hit me! Stole my car, too. I think she broke my nose."  
  
Brady scowled darkly. "Call her that again and I promise you it won't be the only broken bone in your body." His voice took on a dark, ominous tone and he stepped closer to Jason. "Besides, I'm thinking she had a good reason for hitting you. What did you do to her?"  
  
"Whoa!" Jason cried out. "I'm innocent in this. She came on to me! I'm hangin with my friends in the parking lot, when she comes up to me, comin on all hot n heavy, promising me a good time. Says she wants to have fun, wants to know where the fun places are. So we're ridin in my car, I'm tryin to get my thing on and she keeps putting me off. She wants to party and wants to know where the clubs are and stuff. Finally I mention The Underground, but I don't know where it is cause it changes locations like every month."  
  
Jason paused to tilt his head back while Brady impatiently glared at him, waiting for him to finish the story. "She gets all b*tchy and acts like she's gonna leave, so finally I tell her that I'll take her to a great place and she calms down. So I take her to here, thinkin', you know, and she just loses it!"  
  
Brady stared in disgust at the kid. "So basically, you lied to her. You knew she didn't want to come here, but you brought her here anyway." He resisted the urge to beat the brat into a bloody pulp. He still needed to know where Chloe was.  
  
"She knew what she was doin. She wanted it. And I was going to give it to her."  
  
Brady's eyes blazed blue fire and his jaw clenched. He took a menacing step toward him and Jason paled visibly. "You f*cking pr*ck! You better not have touched her, or I swear to God, you will pay." He said quietly, his deep voice resonating with the anger he felt.  
  
Jason's knees knocked and he stumbled backwards. "Nothing happened, I swear! As soon as she saw where we were, she went ballistic and punched me. I got out of the car to calm her down and that's when she jumped in and took off. My parents are gonna kill me, that car was brand new! Aww man. So, anyway, she's gone and I'm stuck walking home."  
  
Brady digested the information and hopped into his van. "Wait!" Jason called after him. "You aren't just gonna leave me here?!"  
  
Brady thought about it for a second. "Yeah, actually I am. I think you need some time to think about how to treat women." He replied and then roared off down the highway, leaving Jason to walk the rest of the way home.  
  
{The Underground. Hmmm} Brady thought as he tried to think about where Chloe could be. {I guess it's as good a place as any to start my search. But where is it?} He then thought of some friends of his at Salem U who might know where the club was currently located. He looked at his speedometer and floored the accelerator, an urgent voice in the back of his head telling him to hurry.  
  
Sarah moved her body with abandon to the driving beat of Nine Inch Nail's "Closer". The three gorgeous guys she was currently dancing with didn't seem to mind. In fact, as she ground her body against one of the men, it was very obvious that they were all having a very good time. The four were intertwined in one moving, undulating mass of limbs. Their dance grew more erotic by the second as the men acted on every excuse to touch Sarah's lithe body. Sarah wasn't complaining.  
  
The song ended, unfortunately for the three boys as Sarah pulled away from them. She smiled seductively and spoke in a husky voice. "So, which one of you fine men wants to buy me a drink?"  
  
The nearest of the three, a blue-eyed boy with glossy black hair replied in a thick Southern drawl. "Name yer poison, darlin." He said with a wink.  
  
Sarah appeared to ponder the question. "Bring me a vodka." She finally decided. "Nothing in it, oh and bring the whole bottle."  
  
The guy soon came back with a bottle and a shot glass. "Oh, I don't need a glass." Sarah told him. "This is how I take my shots." She then grabbed the startled boy and poured the vodka into his open mouth. She then quickly sucked the alcohol out of his mouth, using her own luscious lips and tongue, all before the guy had the chance to swallow.  
  
"See?" Sarah exclaimed as she slowly wiped the corners her mouth with her fingertips. "So." she grinned mischievously. ".who's next?"  
  
"Hey, Josh. Sorry to interrupt your studying, but it's real important. Where's The Underground?"  
  
The cute redhead pushed his glasses up his freckled nose. "Sorry, Brady, I don't know where it's at this month. But wait, the guy at the student store knows - Steve - ask him. Oh, and he'll ask for a password. It's. hold on.counterculture, that's it."  
  
Brady snorted in derision. "Please. Passwords? How James Bond can you get?"  
  
"I know, but they've been shut down before by the cops; this way, they can control who's coming to the club. Anyway, Steve will give you the directions."  
  
"Alright. Thanks, man. Catch ya later."  
  
Thirty minutes later, after finally tracking the Steve guy down and getting directions, Brady was back in his van on his way to The Underground. {Come on, Brady, faster.} His mind flashed against his will, replaying the horrible scene from earlier that night. He saw again the stunned shock in Chloe's large luminous eyes as the site was revealed. His gut twisted as he remembered the naked pain in her eyes when she thought that he had been responsible for the cruel prank. They had locked eyes for an eternal moment and he could see, could feel the raw hurt in her soul. She actually believed that he had betrayed her. It had been too much for her fragile psyche, so she went away to be replaced by "Sarah". Chloe's last thought, before her personality fled into the dark, was of Brady's betrayal. And that knowledge was killing Brady.  
  
{I've got to find her. I have to get "Chloe" back. She has to know it wasn't me, that I would never.} Brady shook off his anxious thoughts and floored the accelerator as grim determination settled over him. He was completely focused on finding Chloe, quickly. Which is why he didn't see the parked police cruiser.  
  
Brady quickly saw the blue lights flashing in his rear view mirror and scorched the air with a string of inventive curses that might have won him a contest, if such cursing contests existed. He sighed heavily and dutifully pulled his van over to the side of the road, his heartbeat racing under the growing pressure to find Chloe.  
  
Several empty bottles of vodka stood on the cheap table of the nearly deserted club. Of Sarah's three dates, one was lying on the floor having recently passed out. Another was retching violently in a corner. Only one of them actually seemed to be okay, though he had obviously been drinking heavily. It was the beautiful blue-eyed southern boy. His suggestive smile had an edge of impatience to it.  
  
The four of them had been partying all night, well after the other patrons had left the club. Sure, the drinking and dancing had been fun, but now he wondered if that was all they were going to do. This Sarah chick was a hot little number and she'd been sending heavy signals from the first instant their eyes locked. His blood pounded and his mind raced, envisioning the things he'd like to do with her, to her. But aside from heavy flirting and mild touching there had been absolutely nothing. The guy wondered how much more he could take.  
  
Sarah took another deep drought of the clear liquid, loving the familiar burn as it flowed down her throat. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked around the near empty club. {Okay, girl, you've had your fun. But remember, you're here for a reason. Time to get down to business.}  
  
She looked around and noted the condition of her three dates with mild curiosity. "Well, it's been fun.." she called out, "but I gotta go. Catch ya later." And with a dismissive wave of her hand, she turned and walked out the door into the side alley.  
  
"WAIT!" a loud male voice called out behind her.  
  
She turned casually to see Mr. Blue-eyed boy behind her, anger written across his features. She simply cocked an eyebrow in reply.  
  
"That's it?!" he cried coming up to her with a menacing scowl on his face. "You come on to us all night long, drinking booze that WE buy for you and now you're just gonna leave? I don't think so." He said with a dark sneer, as his eyes traveled meaningfully over her body.  
  
"You owe us. It's time to pay." 


	6. Chapter Six

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Sarah took a casual swig from the half empty vodka bottle cradled in her hand. She turned disinterested eyes toward the Southern Boy and waited impatiently for him to continue his speech.  
  
"I don't think so, b*tch! You owe us, and now you're going to pay." He threatened ominously while taking a slow, deliberate step toward her.  
  
"Come on man, we don't need this." Southern Boy's friend spoke up from behind him. He stood clutching his queasy, heaving stomach in the doorway of the club. "Let's go find some other tail." He offered.  
  
"No." Southern Boy replied angrily, an ugly sneer across his hard face. "No, she's been asking for this all night - sending us signals, teasing us. That's what you are, isn't it?" he directed his drunken question at Sarah. "A G*d d*mn c*cktease!" he spat at her.  
  
Sarah spun and in one single fluid motion cracked the end of the liquor bottle against a pole. The liquid poured freely out of the broken bottle. She grinned evilly and held the jagged, business end of the bottle toward Southern Boy. "Come over here and say that." She challenged huskily.  
  
Southern Boy's friend backed up, scared by the dark turn of events. "Look, I'm leaving man." He told his friend. "If you're smart, you'll do the same."  
  
But Southern Boy held his ground. He wasn't the least bit daunted by Sarah's threatening stance, but instead smiled his own evil grin. "So the b*tch wants to play, huh?" he quipped. He reached into the back pocket of his tight black jeans and pulled out a black pocketknife. He clicked it open to reveal a long, deadly looking blade.  
  
"Fine with me." He smiled as he advanced on her.  
  
"Thank you, officer." Brady bit out through clenched teeth, an insincere smile plastered on his face. He waited impatiently for the policeman to drive off before keying the ignition. He scowled darkly at the speeding ticket he had received.  
  
"Three hundred bucks. And thirty minutes wasted."  
  
He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his chaotic emotions. {It could have been worse, Brady.} he reminded himself. Despite appearances to the contrary, luck had been with Brady tonight. The officer's computer had been down leaving him unable to check Brady's history. If he had, he might have learned that this was the same Brady Black who had been in trouble with the law many times and who had recently sued the police department for one million dollars. Things could have gone much worse for Brady this evening.  
  
{It's okay, Brady. Shake it off. Just focus on finding her.} he told himself as he roared down the highway, remembering to keep his speed down.  
  
Sarah dropped the bottle to crash on the broken pavement. She backed up slowly and threw her hands up in the air. She soon found herself backed up against a brick wall with nowhere else to go.  
  
"I'll do anything you want." She pleaded, terror reflected in her wide blue eyes. "Just don't hurt me."  
  
But Southern Boy continued his evil advance. "Oh, it's way too late for that, darling." He replied darkly as he pressed himself against her long, curving body. With methodical slowness he traced the contours of her trembling face with the sharp point of his knife. He brought the point to rest in the cleft beneath her throat.  
  
He brought his free hand up to caress her silky hair. "Why must you girls always make this so difficult?" he asked in a soft sinister whisper as he pressed up against her body.  
  
"You mean I'm not your first rape? I'm hurt." Sarah replied with characteristic sarcasm as she quickly brought her knee up to land firmly in his crotch.  
  
Southern Boy groaned and doubled over in pain. Sarah wasted on time in snatching the knife out of his slack grasp. Then, with a dark smile, she went on the attack.  
  
"You men are all the same." She declared as she rained down blows on his face and chest. "You think because you're a man and you have needs that you can just take whatever you want, whoever you want and it doesn't matter - that she said no - it doesn't matter that she's only thirteen - it doesn't matter that she's your daughter - you do it anyway just to satisfy your f*cking sick desires!" she screamed at him.  
  
Southern Boy staggered under her relentless attack. Fear hammered at his heart. {This girl's insane!} Sarah finished him with a spinning kick that left him sprawled on the pavement. He looked up with terrified eyes to see her advancing on him, brandishing his knife. A wild fire in her eyes.  
  
"Please," he begged. "Don't kill me."  
  
She simply smiled and gracefully pulled her arm back. With a quick flick of her wrist, she threw the knife at him. He closed his eyes as the knife hurtled through the air toward him, blade first.  
  
He slowly opened his eyes to see the blade handle sticking up out of the ground between his legs, having just missed his crotch.  
  
"D*mn." Sarah muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I missed."  
  
Southern Boy's eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped in a dead faint.  
  
"Wow, Sarah. You're just having all kinds of fun tonight." She said aloud as she stood admiring her handiwork.  
  
"Chloe!" Sarah heard a voice from behind her. She spun to see Brady coming up to her, relief clearly visible on his handsome features.  
  
"Thank God I found you." He panted heavily. "Are you okay?" he looked down with mild interest at the unconscious boy.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Boy Scout to the rescue." Sarah quipped with a mocking salute.  
  
Brady ignored her and took her hand in his. "I'm taking you back to my place." He said simply, leaving no room for argument.  
  
Sarah's eyes traveled over Brady's figure, liking the way his clothes hung on his athletic frame. His tuxedo jacket was long gone and the top buttons of his dress shirt were undone, providing her with just a peak at his muscular chest.  
  
"Sounds like fun." She agreed with a wink.  
  
The ride to the penthouse was long due to an awkward silence that filled the van. Brady kept stealing glances at the girl who sat beside him. He marveled at the changes that had come over her in just a short period of time. Her clothes, her attitude - everything seemed to be different. {That's because she is different, Brady. She's not the Chloe you know - she's someone else.} he tried to remind himself.  
  
Finally the two stood inside the penthouse apartment. Sarah looked around the spacious apartment and its fine furnishings. "This is your place? Not bad." She gazed appreciatively at Brady's hard body. {Not bad at all.}  
  
But Brady paid her no attention. He looked around the empty penthouse in question - where was everyone? "Dad! Marlena!" he called loudly, hoping against hope for a response. Nothing.  
  
"Oh, don't tell me you live with your parents!" Sarah groaned in derision.  
  
Brady simply ignored her. This was not good. He had expected someone to be here. How was he supposed to help Chloe all by himself? He looked over at Sarah and smiled nervously.  
  
She returned his smile and groaned inwardly. {Looks like I'm going to have to make the first move.} She put a trembling hand to her forehead and swayed unsteadily on her feet. Brady swiftly caught her in his arms.  
  
"Are you okay?" Concern shone in his blue eyes.  
  
Sarah nodded shakily. "I just had a little too much to drink, that's all."  
  
"Come on, you can crash in my room." And picking her up in his strong arms, he gently carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. They entered his room and as he was laying her down on his bed, his head fell forward, barely inches away from hers. She chose that moment to act and reaching up, kissed him full on the lips.  
  
Her moist tongue darted between his open lips and immediately began a probe of his mouth. Stunned by her sudden kiss, Brady fell forward onto the bed to land firmly on top of Sarah's body.  
  
Brady's head spun, reeling from the onslaught of sensation. He tried to pull back, to clear his mind - what was happening here?  
  
But Sarah snaked her hand around the back of his muscular neck and pulled him closer to her. Her undulating, writhing tongue flirted with his, initiating that ancient rhythm, pulsating in and out. In and out. In and out.  
  
Brady was lost. His mind shut down as his body took control. His blood raced, pounding in his head, roaring in his ears. He shifted his body and took over the primordial dance.  
  
Sarah closed her eyes and moaned, sensing the change in him as he shifted from passive spectator to the aggressor. She ground her hips up to greet his as she deftly stripped his shirt off of his chiseled chest. She admired his toned arms and torso, running her hands over the hills and valleys of his tanned flesh.  
  
"Ohhhh" she moaned when he let up his delicious assault on her mouth to trail his tongue down the contours of her neck, stopping to kiss the hollow of her collarbone. Her large sapphire eyes lost their focus when he somehow, amazingly found that one special spot on her neck. He nibbled there with teasing teeth and licking lips as all of her nerves were set tingling with hot fire.  
  
Brady acted on pure instinct, his rational brain having ceased to function minutes ago. This was just too unbelievable. It had been so long, since he had been this close to a woman. In fact not long ago he had feared that he never would again due to his paralysis. But now, not only was he half naked in bed with a beautiful, passionately willing woman, that woman just happened to be Chloe - a girl who had haunted his deepest dreams and been the object of his unconscious desires since their very first meeting.  
  
He recaptured her full lips and groaned as her long manicured fingernails flicked over his ripped abs. Her slender hands slipped under the waist of his dress slacks.  
  
"MMMM" she moaned when her fingers found the object of their search. "VERY not bad." She smiled, observing his reaction to her ministrations.  
  
His blue eyes glossed over, his passions raging out of control. His hands began their own exploration of her luscious body as he buried his face in the crook of her fragrant neck.  
  
"chloe." he moaned aloud, entranced in the moment.  
  
Sarah tensed momentarily, before once again relaxing. "Chloe, huh?" she spoke in that voice that was so strange to his ears. "Hey, whatever starts your engine is fine with me."  
  
Her statement was a bucket of ice water splashed on his burning body. He paused, reality setting in, rational thought once again taking control. {This isn't Chloe.} he told himself as he fought to calm his raging passions. {This isn't right - you can't take advantage of her like this. You'd be no better than that Jason punk.}  
  
Guilt and self-loathing crawled over him as he realized what he had almost done. He had sought to help Chloe, not hurt her. This act of passion would have been a horrible violation of her body, never mind that Sarah was willing; it's Chloe who has to live with the consequences.  
  
He quickly pulled away from Sarah, noticing the confusion on her face. "I'm sorry. We can't. I didn't bring you here for this. I brought you here because you need help, Chloe - Sarah." He corrected hastily.  
  
Sarah's confusion turned to unbridled rage. How dare he refuse her? She slapped him viciously, raking her nails across his skin. In a single jump she was off the bed and in front of him. She savagely kicked his kneecap, causing him to stumble back against his desk.  
  
He fell to the floor, wincing as the old familiar pain shot up his legs and into his back. {Please God} he begged {not again!} But it was useless as the numbness settled over his legs and he knew it would be minutes before he could move them again.  
  
She stood looking down on her fallen foe, blue fire flashing in her eyes. "You're wrong." She stated quietly. "I don't need help. I need revenge."  
  
And then she was gone. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
"Brady! Son, are you here?" John called out into the penthouse.  
  
"I thought I saw his van in the parking deck." Belle offered as she and her parents looked around the empty living room. The trio glanced up to see Brady hobbling painfully down the stairs. He leaned heavily on the rail as he went down slowly one step at a time.  
  
John rushed forward to his son's aid with Belle following close behind. Marlena maintained her position, looking slightly uncomfortable. Her heart twisted with remorse and guilt at the sight of Brady's obvious pain. She still felt responsible for her role in the crazed witch-hunt that ended in Brady being shot and paralyzed. She prayed that somehow they would be able to work through it.  
  
"Brady! What's wrong?" John cried out anxiously while examining his son. "Your legs?" He had thought that Brady had gotten through this, he had begun walking and dancing again without needing a cane. And now to see his son in great pain, barely able to walk.  
  
"I'm fine, Dad." Brady winced as another spasm of hot fire shot up his back. "My legs aren't important. We have to find her."  
  
But John still focused on his son's legs. "Find who?"  
  
"Chloe - Sarah! She was just here, not ten minutes ago. We have to find her!" Brady stated firmly, his blue eyes pleading. "We can't let her be out there like this. She needs help." He finished quietly.  
  
Sarah snapped the phone book shut and turned away from the pay phone. She sauntered off into the black shadows, whistling an ironically happy tune.  
  
Jan Spears clutched her stomach for dear life as it heaved violently. {Come on Jan, don't puke in the yard. You can make it inside.} She managed the remaining few wobbly steps to her porch and stood unsteadily in front of the door.  
  
"Note to self: Beer first, THEN the hard stuff. NOT the other way around." She mumbled aloud as she fumbled for her house keys. She vaguely wondered through her drunken haze why none of the house lights were on.  
  
"Oh right. Mom's away on business. Again." Jan was so busy talking to herself and searching for the right key that she didn't notice the shadow that fell over her shoulder.  
  
"I guess that means you're all alone." a strange voice spoke from behind her, an evil edge to the dark voice.  
  
Jan jumped and spun around. Her eyes visibly bulged from their sockets and her jaw dropped open. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision. This just couldn't be happening. She must be seeing things. But the person was still there.  
  
"Chloe?" she asked finally, quickly gaining control of her surprise. Her eyes traveled over the black leather and red see through top that Chloe wore. "I must say, this is certainly a new look for you." She laughed harshly.  
  
"What is this, your latest incarnation? Ghoul girl - to high school princess - to what, street walker?" Jan sneered. "Of course, I don't know why I'm so surprised. After what we all saw this evening."  
  
"I'm so glad you mentioned that." Sarah spoke up and then Jan noticed the harsh gritty quality in Chloe's voice. "You see, it's kinda the reason why I'm here."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jan replied automatically, her face the portrait of feigned innocence. She backed up though, when Chloe advanced on her, wearing an expression of deadly calm. Jan shivered involuntarily from the cold that radiated off of the other girl's aura.  
  
Sarah continued her dark advance on the cowering girl. She raised her arm, hand balled into a menacing fist. No other words were spoken.  
  
"Okay, what happened, Brady?" Marlena finally spoke up, the voice of calm.  
  
Brady sighed and recalled the night's events and the crazy search for Chloe. "Finally, after all this, I found her in a back alley beside some wild club, an unconscious man lying at her feet. She agreed to come back here with me. Only, no one else was here. She wanted to lie down, so I.got her settled in my bed.Then she totally went berserk, and kicked me and then left. I lost my balance and wrenched my knee. It's not so bad now, but I couldn't move for a few minutes. But anyway, that doesn't matter. We have to find her."  
  
"And we will, but we need to know the mindset she's in. Why did she become angry with you? Did she say anything before leaving?" Marlena questioned.  
  
Brady bit his lip. He knew the reason for Chloe's explosion of temper, but couldn't share it. It just didn't feel right. "I.don't know why she got mad. But she did say as she was leaving that she didn't need help; she needed revenge."  
  
"Revenge?" Marlena pondered. "Revenge on whom?"  
  
Brady sighed heavily with a slump of his tense shoulders. "I don't know."  
  
Jan was only slightly aware of the blood that trickled out of her throbbing nose. She was focused on protecting her face and head from the storm of vicious blows that rained down on her body. She pushed herself back as far as she could into the corner of her porch.  
  
"Please" she pleaded with fearful eyes. "Don't kill me." Jan had never been so terrified in her entire life. Not even the many times that her mom beat her. She was used to those beatings - she knew how to handle them. But this was different. There was no anger, no yelling. Just a cold silence.  
  
And then, just as abruptly as it had begun, it was over. And she was gone. Jan gave a small whimper as her bottled up fear and relief flowed out of her. She curled up into a fetal position on her porch and cried the first tears since childhood.  
  
Sarah practically skipped down the deserted city street; she was so proud of herself. She stopped suddenly when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She peered through the front window of a hunting supply store. There on a window display in a protective casing of thick glass laid a stunning dagger. It was long and slender, with a deadly sharp point. The handle was carved pewter depicting a serpent's body wrapping around it. The streetlights flashed off of a ruby jewel set in the eye of the snake. It was a work of art.  
  
Without a moment's hesitation she broke the glass window with her elbow and snatched the dagger with one quick motion. She pocketed the knife and was gone before the alarms sounded.  
  
Marlena hung up the phone and turned around to her waiting family. "That was Chloe's case worker at the orphanage. She will be on the next flight out. She seemed very concerned about Sarah's appearance but wanted to wait on any details until she was here in person."  
  
"Did you ask her about the revenge thing?" John asked as he thoughtfully stroked his chin.  
  
"No, but she did say that Sarah's primary role is as Chloe's protector, so if she feels that someone has hurt her, then she will go after them." Marlena's reply was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone.  
  
She clicked open her phone. "Dr. Evans" Brady stretched his sore legs while his stepmother talked on the phone. He barely noticed the dull pain in his legs, or Marlena's serious conversation. His mind was totally focused on Chloe, where she might be, what she might be doing.  
  
He closed his eyes as sweet memories played from earlier that night. He remembered touching her, kissing her. He could still smell her sweet fragrance of jasmine and honeysuckle. He remembered how it felt to run his fingers through her thick mass of soft hair. Mostly, though, he remembered the passion she was able to invoke in him with just a kiss, and the small regret that they hadn't completed their act of love.  
  
{That wasn't Chloe, Brady.} he reminded himself firmly. He turned back to Marlena as she was hanging up the phone. He immediately noticed her concerned expression.  
  
"That was Craig. Jan Spears was just admitted into the hospital with pretty severe injuries. She says that she was attacked and beaten by.Chloe." She trailed off, stunned at the strange news.  
  
"Revenge." Brady muttered aloud. "Of course. Jan and Mimi had set up the website that had caused Chloe's personality to shutdown in the first place. So that's what she's after. Which means the next place she'll go is." he trailed off as he looked at his little sister.  
  
The worry on Belle's face showed that she had come to the same conclusion. "Mimi" she breathed, fearful for her good childhood friend. "We gotta stop her." Wordlessly the four exited the penthouse.  
  
"Looks like everyone's asleep." Sarah muttered as she peered through the windows into the darkness inside the house. "Good. Makes my job easier." She threw a quick glance around the front porch. She picked up the heavy mat that read "The Lockharts", but there was nothing underneath.  
  
Sarah furrowed her brow in thought. Then she spied the hideous frog statue and picked it up. {Yes!} she cheered inwardly as she picked up the key. She quietly unlocked the door and slipped inside.  
  
Her sock feet made no noise as she padded through the house, looking for her room. She found it finally, upstairs. She was fast asleep in her bed, snoring softly. Sarah expertly taped over the sleeping girl's mouth and then squatted over her prone form. She slowly drew her dagger out, the vicious blade glinting in the moonlight.  
  
Mimi Lockhart twitched in her sleep. She could feel something on her face and a weight pressing on her. She blinked open her eyes and was immediately startled to find the tape over her mouth. She tried to scream as she saw Chloe advance on her with an evil looking knife in her hand. But there was no sound in the room. Only silence. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Her whistled notes hung in the cool night air as she casually strolled the city streets. She smiled as she looked down at her knife. She wiped the blade clean and laughed, remembering the look on Mimi's face. {Damn! That felt good.}  
  
She stopped suddenly as a new thought occurred to her. "So now what? I took care of Jan and Mimi - so why am I still here?" She sighed and wandered the streets aimlessly.  
  
"I've only been out a few hours and already I'm tired of this. Tired of popping up and playing "Avenger" every time someone hurts you." She found herself walking along a dark pier along the dock's edge. She walked to the end of the pier, drawn by the pull of the water. She sat down with a heavy sigh.  
  
"Help me out here, C. What am I supposed to be doing here? Who has been hurting you?"  
  
Marlena stood with her hand poised inches in front of the Lockharts' front door. To her surprise the door quietly opened before them.  
  
"Looks like she beat us here." Belle commented worriedly.  
  
"If she's still here, we will have to be very careful." Marlena told Belle and Brady. "Especially since your father's gone to pick up Chloe's case worker from the airport. Let me do all the talking." The three of them froze when they heard hysterical weeping from the floor above them.  
  
They rushed to the sound of the crying and were stunned by the sight that met them. Mrs. Lockhart cradled her daughter's body in her arms while her husband held a conversation with police on the phone. The crying came from a very distraught Mimi who clutched fistfuls of what appeared to be hair.  
  
Mrs. Lockhart soothed her upset daughter. "Shhh, it's okay Mimi. You're safe sweetie. She's gone."  
  
Marlena spoke up, announcing their presence. "Mr. & Mrs. Lockhart, I'm so terribly sorry to intrude, but can you tell us what happened here?"  
  
Mimi looked up then and pulled away from her mother. The three visitors gasped when her face finally became visible to them. Brady was still wondering why her head seemed so small when he saw the clumps of blond hair that littered the covers of her bed. Her hair had been cut, and badly so. It stuck out in uneven spikes all over her head - the longest pieces not even an inch long.  
  
"What happened?!" she shrieked from fear, anger and embarrassment. Why of all times did Brady have to be standing in her bedroom now?! "She cut my hair!" she cried pointing to the spikes on her head. "That freak friend of yours tied me up and cut off my hair with a knife!"  
  
The visitors breathed a sigh of relief to discover that Mimi was relatively okay. Brady stifled a snicker at Chloe's prank.  
  
"Brady!" Belle hissed with an elbow in his side. She went forward to hug her friend.  
  
"I'm so glad you think this is funny!" Mimi said in between sniffles with a glare at her childhood crush.  
  
"Yeah, I think this is very funny. Considering that it could have been worse, considering what you did to Chloe." He replied coldly.  
  
Mrs. Lockhart looked at her guests in confusion. "Excuse me Marlena. Don't get me wrong, but what are you doing here?"  
  
"Something serious happened to a classmate of your daughter's tonight - Chloe Lane. She isn't.herself at the moment. We came here fearing that she would do something to Mimi, after hearing what she did to Jan Spears."  
  
Mimi started at that name. "Jan? Uh.what does Jan have to do with me?" She asked, her face a portrait of innocence.  
  
Marlena shushed Brady's angry reply. She smiled kindly at Mimi. "Mimi, we know the truth about what you and Jan did to Chloe. It would be better if it came from you." She suggested.  
  
Mimi looked at her parents and bit her lips. Her father crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. "Well, Miriam?"  
  
In a low whisper Mimi haltingly told them of her part in the prank played on Chloe. She finished and braced herself for the inevitable explosion from her parents.  
  
"Miriam Renee Lockhart! I don't believe this!" her mother said finally.  
  
"That computer was a donation from Habitat for Humanity, and this is how you use it? To set up a pornographic website featuring pictures of a minor?!" her father cried. "Do you have any idea of the trouble you're in right now?"  
  
Marlena interjected. "Well I know the three of you have much to talk about, but first Mimi, it is very important that we find Chloe. Do you have any idea where she is - or where she was heading?"  
  
Mimi shook her head tearfully. "She didn't say anything. I woke up and she was on top of me and she had taped my mouth shut. She pulled out this evil looking knife and I couldn't even scream. I thought she was going to kill me." She whimpered.  
  
"When did she leave?" Brady asked.  
  
"About thirty minutes ago."  
  
Outside the house they pondered their next move.  
  
"Great. Just great. We're back where we started from. Chloe's out there somewhere and we have no idea where to find her." Brady said dejectedly.  
  
Marlena rubbed her tired eyes and sighed. "I guess the best thing is to go home and wait for her therapist. Maybe she'll have some insight on Sarah's personality that will help us find her."  
  
Brady paused momentarily and furrowed his brow in thought. Something was nagging at the edges of his consciousness - like a pull on his spirit. He looked around at the neighborhood and realized suddenly where in town they were, and what was nearby.  
  
"You guys go on ahead. I'm going to check out a place I know near here - one of Chloe's hangouts."  
  
"Okay. Just remember Brady, if you see Chloe, call me immediately." Marlena smiled at him, suddenly moved with tenderness fro her stepson. She reached up to cup his cheek. "Be careful son."  
  
Brady looked at her quizzically, blown away by her unexpected act. She smiled and removed her hand from his face.  
  
"I'm sorry." She apologized quickly.  
  
"No it's okay. It's just - you haven't called me that in a long time." He replied softly.  
  
"Even if I haven't said it out loud, I've still felt it inside." She paused, still smiling. "However, I feel that this is not the best time for a heart to heart. Come on Belle. Brady, we'll see you later."  
  
He stood and watched his sister and stepmother drive off, a bemused expression on his face. She never failed to surprise him. {Enough Brady. You still have to find Chloe.} He reminded himself. He set off at a brisk jog, ignoring the shooting pain in his legs.  
  
Sarah wound back her arm and let the stone fly from her hand, mesmerized by the ripples it made in the water. {I don't get it. There's got to be more to this than just that lame prank those two losers pulled. There's got to be some other reason why I'm here. Something else I'm supposed to do.}  
  
She threw another pebble into the water. "Ya know, C. This whole 'avenging your pain' thing would be a lot easier if I shared your memories - or had some clue about your life. But every time it's the same thing. Something happens to you and you shut down, forcing me to take over and make things better. Only every time I wake up it's like starting all over again and I have to play detective just to learn where you are and what's been going on. Ya know, I only just learned the name of this dinky little town."  
  
She sighed heavily. "It was so much easier before. I always knew who the bad guys were. Whether it was the drunk bastard who punched your face into a wall or the sick f*ck who raped you while others took pictures. Now." she trailed off as she threw another rock into the dark water.  
  
"I gotta say C, it looks like you gotta pretty good life here in Salem. Of course I haven't met the parental units yet, but it seems like you have friends - such as they are. And that hottie Brady really seems to care about you. So what am I missing?" She mused in frustration as she hurled another stone into the air.  
  
"Nice arm." A voice remarked behind her. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
"Nice arm." A voice remarked behind her.  
  
Sarah turned around to see who was standing there. "Boy Scout." She rolled her eyes. "I shoulda known it was you."  
  
Brady motioned to the empty spot beside her on the pier. "Can I join you?"  
  
She shrugged nonchalantly and he sat down beside her. They sat quietly looking out over the water for a few minutes. Brady shot a quick glance at the girl beside him.  
  
"You know, this is one of Chloe's favorite places. She likes to come here and just look at the water and think." He mentioned casually.  
  
"Really. Can't say I'm surprised. That girl is five kinds of boring." She stated mockingly.  
  
Brady looked at Sarah speculatively. "And yet you're here. Looking out at the water. Maybe there's some of Chloe in you after all." He suggested.  
  
Sarah turned her attention back to the bobbing waters. "Don't count on it." She said softly.  
  
Brady was surprised at how well their conversation was going so far. Granted, she wasn't exactly an open book, but at least she hadn't attacked him. So it was a small victory. Now to keep her talking, maybe he'd get a clue on how to get Chloe back.  
  
Brady spoke up again, trying to maintain a light, breezy air. "I understand you've had quite an eventful evening."  
  
Sarah grinned, her blue eyes flashing with mischief. "Yeah, I'm just having all kinds of fun."  
  
"Fun? Beating the snot out of Jan and terrorizing Mimi was fun?"  
  
"It didn't suck." She replied with a dark smile.  
  
"Well, if you care."  
  
"I don't." Sarah interrupted with a hint of warning in her voice.  
  
Brady inhaled deeply reminding himself to tread carefully. He began again with a disinterested tone. "I was just saying that Jan is in the hospital. She's going to be okay but she does have some nasty bruises." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye to gauge her response.  
  
But her face remained impassive and uncaring. She shrugged her shoulders again. "Nothing worse than she's gotten before, I bet."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
Sarah stifled a bored yawn. She wasn't sure, and she certainly didn't care, but she had gotten the feeling when she was hitting Jan, that the girl had been hit before and quite regularly. She knew how to take a beating. "Ask her parents." She said simply. "And as for Mimi. Please, I did her a favor."  
  
Brady tried to stifle his laugh, but it still came out as a snicker.  
  
Sarah laughed freely and the light musical sound was music to Brady's ears. It was Chloe's laugh. But then the laughter died to be replaced by Sarah's mocking voice. "I see you agree with me."  
  
He chuckled softly despite himself. "Yeah. The funny thing is, her hair had just grown out from the last time. The girl's going to be back to wearing hats for the next several months."  
  
"The last time?" She questioned.  
  
Brady looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, you remember. The glue in the shampoo bottle?" he prompted.  
  
Sarah laughed again. "Someone put glue in her shampoo? That's classic!" she roared.  
  
But Brady just kept staring at her. "Uh, yeah, you did. I mean, Chloe, she put glue in Mimi's shampoo bottle when Mimi and her family were staying with Chloe. You don't remember?"  
  
Sarah shot him her best idiot look. "Hello? Not Chloe." She sneered derisively.  
  
"I know that. I just thought that you would at least have her memories."  
  
"Sorry. Don't work that way."  
  
Brady gazed at her thoughtfully. {Finally, an opening.} "So, how does it work?" he asked softly.  
  
Sarah studied him for a minute while she debated internally. She shrugged finally and began her story. "The short version is something happens to Chloe, something she can't handle, then I come out and take care of it for her. Whether it means getting her out of her present situation, or just bodysitting until she's strong enough to cope. At first, I was just a substitute; I'd stand in for her until things improved, but over time I've kinda become her protector, her avenger."  
  
"Like with Jan and Mimi." Brady interjected.  
  
"Yeah, but usually on a much larger scale. That's what makes me wonder,." she trailed off.  
  
"Wonder what?" he prompted.  
  
"Well, Chloe's been through so much.crap in her life that a lame teenage prank like this doesn't even register on the scale. So why did she shutdown? Why does she need me now, especially after so long?"  
  
Brady mulled over this new information. He still felt that he was to blame for Chloe's breakdown, for not being there when she needed him. But maybe there was more to it than he thought. "So, you mean, that you don't have any idea what caused her breakdown? You don't know what she's thinking, what's been going on in her life?"  
  
"Not one clue." She replied as she gazed out over the water. "Which doesn't exactly make my job easy. Do you know what it's like to suddenly wake up from a long deep sleep to find your self in a strange place, surrounded by people you don't know and you have to somehow fix things?" she inhaled a deep breath. "Let me tell you it is exhausting, and I am very tired. I'm tired of all of it."  
  
They were silent for a moment, both staring at the waving reflections in the dark water. Brady went back over what he had learned. He gained a lot of useful information, but he was still clueless as to how to reach Chloe. He seized upon an idea and decided to give it a try.  
  
"Sarah, is there a way that I can talk to Chloe? I need to tell her something." He said softly.  
  
"Tell her what?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
Brady inhaled deeply. "Chloe believed that I had set up the website, and she.went away before I could tell her that it wasn't me. I have to tell her.she needs to know that I didn't do this to her. I would never hurt her like that." He trailed off in a hoarse whisper, his blue eyes pleading.  
  
Sarah observed him quietly. "Wow, you really care about her, don't you?"  
  
Brady paused before finally replying. "Yeah. I do." He said simply, avoiding her eyes.  
  
Sarah stared at the gorgeous boy beside her, her eyes wandering again over his body. She remembered their earlier encounter with a wicked smile. {mmmm. It's a pity he's in love with Chloe. He's got bad boy written all over him. Oh the things I could do with him.} "So you wanna talk to Chloe." She shrugged simply. "Okay."  
  
Brady watched her intently as she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Quiet minutes passed and then finally, she fluttered open her eyes. She looked over at Brady, confusion written on her features.  
  
"Brady?" she glanced around the pier. "How did I get here? I was at the dance, and then." her face screwed up in pain.  
  
"Don't think about it, Chloe." He breathed as he hugged her tightly. "I'm just so glad to have you back. I've been, we've all been so worried about you." He said as he continued to hold her in his arms, relief pouring through him. He hoped this would last, that Sarah wouldn't come back.  
  
Chloe rested her head on his chest and tightened her arms around his waist. Then, ever so slowly, her hands lowered. Then with a quick movement she grabbed his butt in her hands and squeezed.  
  
Brady jumped back in surprise as Chloe collapsed in a fit of laughter. "Nice butt." She cracked.  
  
He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Sarah."  
  
"How did you know?" she asked innocently as she continued chuckling. "Sorry, Boy Scout. This ain't Oprah. You can't talk to Chloe. She's not here."  
  
"You could've told me that before." He bit out dryly.  
  
"What, and miss the chance to cop a feel?" She shot back with a wide smile.  
  
Brady sighed and settled back down beside Sarah. "Okay, so if I can't talk to Chloe, can we at least talk about her? Can you tell me about her life? Why does she need you in the first place? I mean, everyone has their problems, but they don't have.alternate personalities or whatever it is that you are."  
  
"Yeah, but I guarantee you that everyone hasn't had Chloe's life. Her story reads like some melodramatic Lifetime movie, only much more so.  
  
It all started the day she watched her parents die." 


	10. Chapter Ten

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
"Yes?" the voice answered with a regal air.  
  
"Stefano, we have a problem. Sarah has awoken."  
  
There was a slight pause as the voice on the other end absorbed the news.  
  
"How did this happen? Did the chip malfunction?"  
  
"Rolf is checking the equipment now but as far as we can tell, her chip has not been activated."  
  
"So tell me how this happened." The voice repeated with a cold edge of anger.  
  
"We do not know, Stefano." Celeste replied calmly. "You know as well as I that Sarah has never been entirely.stable. Apparently, Chloe suffered a shock this evening and Sarah awoke as a result."  
  
"Damn!" Stefano muttered darkly. "What does she remember?"  
  
"I will not know until I talk with her. However the fact that she has not contacted us is at least a cause for hope."  
  
There was another pause on the line. Celeste could almost hear her employer's mind race. "Hmmm. If the chip was not activated, then the personality switch would be incomplete. She would not remember her mission, nor have any memories of the years before coming to Salem except, of course, for the false memories which we implanted in her mind. All is not yet lost." He added softly. "Where are you?"  
  
"I am en route to Salem now, Stefano."  
  
"Do you remember the code phrase?"  
  
"Of course, Stefano. Do not worry, dahling. I will take care of Sarah."  
  
"Do not fail me in this, Celeste. Everything that we have worked for in the last seven years will be for naught if she is discovered."  
  
"I understand Stefano. Celeste out."  
  
Sarah's blue eyes lost focus as she gazed out over the water. "She watched them die." She repeated softly. "Heard their screams. Saw the blood. God, it was everywhere. It seeped into her skin and stained her nightgown, scarlet on white. She saw it all, from her position under the dining room table."  
  
Brady listened quietly as she spoke; he was too stunned to say anything.  
  
"I remember this because I was born in that moment. In that moment of pain, fear and loss, I was created, to bear what she could not. I carry the burden of memory, so Chloe can live in the blissfulness of ignorance. What she cannot remember, I cannot forget." Sarah fell silent then, her face reflecting the pain of the vivid memories.  
  
"What happened?" Brady gently prodded.  
  
Sarah looked at him and smiled sadly. "She was ten, the day her parents died. They weren't her biological parents, but they might as well have been. She loved them totally and completely, especially her father. She and her father were very close, perhaps too close. I think her mother may have been jealous of the attention that Mr. Lane showered on Chloe. Mrs. Lane was at times, cold and distant. That night was one of those times.  
  
They were running late that night. I don't even remember where they were going; movies, a classical concert. Chloe desperately wanted to go and her father wanted to bring her, but her mother was adamant. Chloe would stay behind with a sitter. She didn't even let Chloe say goodbye to her father, she just yanked him out the door and toward the car. But as Mr. Lane was helping his wife into the car, he turned toward the front door where Chloe was standing and mouthed the words, 'I love you.'  
  
And that was the last time she saw them. It wasn't even a few hours later when a cop showed up and broke the news that the Lanes had been killed in a car accident. Her parents were dead and shortly after she was shipped off to an orphanage."  
  
Sarah paused then, and glanced out over the bobbing waters. Brady joined her in staring at the dark water. His heart twisted in sadness and sympathy for Chloe's pain. He had known that she was an orphan, but he didn't KNOW it, didn't stop to think what it meant. She had lost both her parents, like he had lost his mom. He glanced back at Sarah when he heard her quiet intake of breath.  
  
"At least, that's the story as Chloe remembers it." She continued. "This is what really happened. A few hours later, after Chloe had gone to bed, she woke after hearing a noise from below. She crept down the stairs and was filled with joy to hear that her parents were home from their evening out. She stopped in the dining room. Angry voices floated in from the kitchen.  
  
'Calm down, Emily. She's just a child.' Her father's voice soothed.  
  
'That's just my point. She IS a child. Yet sometimes I think you love her more than you do me.'  
  
'Don't be ridiculous, Em.'  
  
Chloe held her breath at the exchange. When she heard her parents' approaching footsteps, she scrambled under the dining room table to avoid discovery.  
  
'I thought adopting a child would help our marriage.' Her mother was saying softly. 'Instead she's only driven us further apart.'  
  
Chloe blinked back her tears - she couldn't believe what her mother was saying.  
  
Her father sighed heavily. 'Can't we at least wait until the babysitter leaves before you recite the - I ruined your life - speech?' he asked softly. He called out into the house. 'Jenna! We're home!' He and his wife reached the dining room and looked around.  
  
'That's strange, all the lights are off. Jenna!' he called, louder this time.  
  
Chloe wiped her eyes and hid even further under the table. After what she had overheard she certainly didn't want to see her parents. That's when she saw it." Sarah broke off.  
  
"Saw what?" Brady asked.  
  
"There, on the floor not five feet in front of her lay the body of Chloe's favorite sitter.  
  
'Jenna?' she whispered hoarsely, her little eyes wide with fear and shock. Jenna's wide unblinking eyes stared back at the little girl. Chloe could see the large gash on her throat and the rivers of dark red blood that poured from it. Finally after what seemed like minutes, Chloe tore her gaze away from the still body. And locked onto a dark figure hiding in a corner.  
  
'Jenna!' her father called softly and Chloe heard several muted clicks as her father repeated flicked the light switch. 'The power's out. Stay close, Emily.' He said as the entered the room. 'You don't know what we may.Oh my God. Jenna.' He breathed as they came across her prone form.  
  
'Emily, call 911! Tell them to get an.' but he never finished his sentence. For at that moment, the shadowy assailant lunged at him. Chloe saw a brief flash of sharpened steel and then he too was lying still on the floor. A second later, her mother joined him on the floor in her own bloody heap.  
  
Chloe shook herself out of her paralyzed shock. 'Daddy!' she cried out and scrambled toward his body. She shook him and hugged him, pleading with him to get up, to move, to not leave her. But he was already dead. And Chloe sat there in a pool of her father's blood, watching it wash over her hands and soak into her nightgown."  
  
"Oh my Lord." Brady breathed when Sarah fell silent. "They were murdered. And she witnessed it." No wonder Chloe was so screwed up. He sat quietly and pondered the significance of what he'd just learned.  
  
"What happened then?" he asked softly.  
  
Sarah frowned in thought as she searched her hazy memories. "I don't really remember. I see images - jumbled together, none of them making sense. I remember hiding from the bastard who murdered my father - I mean - Chloe's father. He reached his hand out for me.and.then there was darkness." She gnawed her lip. Her mind seemed to grow fuzzier with each passing minute.  
  
"Did.did he abduct you?"  
  
"I don't know..Yes.No.maybe.I, I don't know." She growled in frustration. She stood up quickly and turned away from the edge of the pier. She shook her head to clear her mind. This introspection crap was quickly getting on her last nerve.  
  
"What happened next?"  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!" She yelled, her temper getting the better of her. A strange sensation nagged at the corner of her mind. There was something she was supposed to do. A mission she was supposed to complete, but the confusion in her mind made it hard to think. Conflicting images and memories warred in her mind. Her memories were becoming so fragmented that what she thought she knew ten minutes ago was now uncertain and unclear.  
  
She inhaled deeply and sought to calm herself. {I can't believe I got so carried away just now. I even forgot about my mission. Wait, that's right, I don't know what my mission is, what I'm supposed to be doing here.}  
  
Brady scrambled to his feet, unsure of what had just happened. Sarah had seemed on the verge of really opening up, but now once again she had closed herself off to him.  
  
"Sarah?"  
  
She whirled to face him, her face a cold, hard mask. "Conversation's over, Shrink-boy. I got places to be." She turned and walked away.  
  
"Like where?" he called after her.  
  
She stopped dead in her tracks. {Damn him and his logical questions.} She grimaced. Where was she going to go?  
  
Brady stepped up behind her. "Let me take you to the Wesleys'. I'm sure they're worried about you."  
  
She turned around. "And they would be.?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"Listen, right now I don't even know who I am. Nothing in my head is making sense and I feel like I'm losing my f*cking mind, so why don't you just save me the headache and tell me who they are."  
  
"Your parents. Well, Chloe's parents. Well, Chloe's mother, her REAL mother, Nancy and her step-father Craig." He explained.  
  
"Oh." She replied simply. At that moment, her mind was spinning with possibilities. {Step-father, huh? Now everything's starting to make sense.}  
  
Sarah gifted Brady with a bright smile. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." She smiled darkly to herself. {It's time I paid "daddy" a visit.} 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Call Me Sarah  
  
  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
  
  
Sarah closed the door and leaned heavily against it. {Finally. I thought he'd never leave.} She glanced around at her surroundings. "Looks like someone has money." She fingered a porcelain figurine. "And no taste." Her eyes fell on a painting above the mantel.  
  
"Is that a Monet?" She recognized it as a work from his later period. She carefully studied the colors and forms. "Damn." She muttered. Closer inspection had revealed the painting to be a clever reproduction. "Pity. The original would be worth a small fortune."  
  
A phone rang behind her. She let it ring three times before finally picking up the receiver.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Chloe?! Sweetie is that you? Oh honey, I've been so worried about you. Are you okay? What happened? Craig said that something happened at the dance - Are you all right? Oh those stupid, mean-spirited kids - they are going to pay for what they've done to you."  
  
Sarah held the phone away from her ear to block the hysterical woman's shrill voice. She rolled her eyes. {This must be Nancy. Poor Chloe.}  
  
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm just a little tired so I'm gonna go to bed."  
  
"Well, um.okay sweetie. I've been held up here at the hospital so it will be a few hours before I can come home. But Craig is on his way there now. He will want to examine you, just to make sure everything's fine."  
  
{Oh he will, huh?} Sarah thought to herself with a dark smile. She took her knife out and watched the light glint off of the cold blade.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Celeste inspected her appearance in the airplane's bathroom mirror. She gazed at the strange face reflected back at her. "Perfect." She declared with satisfaction. {With this guise I should go unrecognized.} She cleared her throat and practiced speaking without her usual accent.  
  
"Hello, I am Dr. Shanice Johnson."  
  
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Dr. Johnson." Marlena greeted the beautiful woman as John led her into the penthouse.  
  
"You're very welcome, Dr. Evans."  
  
John cast a puzzled glance at the black woman. There was something about her that he just couldn't place.  
  
Marlena smiled as she shook the woman's hand. "I'm sorry, Dr. Johnson. Have we met before? You seem very familiar to me."  
  
Dr. Johnson smiled uneasily. She replied after a slight pause. "I do not believe so, Dr. Evans. Yet we do move in the same circles; perhaps we met at a conference once." She suggested.  
  
"You're probably right. Well, let's get down to business, shall we?"  
  
"Yes, of course. I must say, I was quite surprised and concerned to hear of Sarah's reemergence. Where is she now?"  
  
"Unfortunately, we don't know. We've been tracking her activities through the night, and our son Brady even made contact with her, yet she has managed to slip away from us repeatedly."  
  
"It is imperative that we find her, and quickly. Sarah is highly unstable and extremely dangerous. There is no knowing what she may do."  
  
"What do we have here?" Sarah smiled darkly as she spied the locked gun safe. A quick search of a nearby dresser revealed the key. She unlocked the small metal box and pulled out the sleek black gun. "Nice." She found the ammunition in a separate locked case.  
  
She held the gun in her hand, familiarizing herself with the weight and feel of it. Her eyelids fluttered shut as dark images spun in her head.  
  
Someone was beating her. She could feel the bruises forming on her tender face. She could feel the stinging burn of a thousand belts lashing down on her legs and back. She swallowed the whimper that rose in her throat. Another memory flash and now someone was tearing her clothes off, moving inside her.  
  
She forced away the vivid images and calmed the chaos in her mind. This is what she was supposed to do. This was her mission. {Complete it and I can go back to sleep and it will all be over.}  
  
She studied the gun briefly and paused. Not only did she instinctively know how to operate the weapon, she also knew its make and model. She knew that this particular model generated a large amount of kickback, and that she would have to brace herself against the force.  
  
{I've never used a gun, have I?} Images whirled in her mind. She stood over a fallen foe, blood flowing in rivers on the floor, a smoking gun cradled in her hand.  
  
She blinked rapidly to clear her mind. "What the hell is happening to me?" {The things I've been doing; breaking and entering, martial arts, handling guns and knives - I shouldn't know how to do any of it.} "But somehow I do." She finished aloud.  
  
{Pull yourself together, Sarah. Just do what you came here to do.} She saw a picture of Nancy and Craig on top of the dresser. She aimed her gun at it, at Craig's face and smiled.  
  
"It ends tonight, Chloe. I'm gonna make sure that no one ever hurts us again."  
  
A door slammed below. A male voice floated up the stairs. "Chloe, sweetheart are you here?"  
  
"I'm up here, Craig."  
  
"And that's the last that we've heard of her. Brady left to follow a hunch of his own, but we haven't heard back from him yet."  
  
They heard the penthouse door open.  
  
"I bet that's him." John spoke up as he headed into the living room with the others in tow.  
  
"Hey son. Did you have any luck?"  
  
"Define luck. I found her at the pier. I just dropped her off at the Wesleys'." He replied breathlessly.  
  
"Why didn't you bring her back here?"  
  
"What, and get a repeat of last time? No thanks. Sarah doesn't want help. If I had brought her here, she would've known something was up. I'm just glad she agreed to go home. Especially after what I learned tonight."  
  
"I better call Craig and let him know about Sarah." Marlena said as she moved toward the phone.  
  
"What did you learn?" Dr. Johnson asked Brady.  
  
"A lot. It was amazing. Sarah actually opened up to me - revealed to me some of her history - how she came to be in the first place."  
  
"And what EXACTLY did she tell you?"  
  
"She told me about Chloe's parents, how they died." Brady began.  
  
The caseworker quickly interrupted. "Let me guess.She told you they were murdered one night while she watched."  
  
"Um.yeah. How did.?"  
  
"I've heard the story many times from Sarah. The problem is - that's not what happened. Chloe's parents died in a car accident, plain and simple. I know. I've read all the police and coroner's reports. There was nothing 'mysterious' about their deaths, tragic though they were."  
  
"Then why does Sarah remember it that way?" Brady asked.  
  
"Well, Chloe's life changed very dramatically due to her parents' deaths. She went from a warm, loving family to an orphanage to her first foster home in just a matter of days. She dealt with it by inventing the fantasy of her parents' murders in her mind. Perhaps it was easier to believe her parents were murdered - that they died while trying to protect her from a faceless monster, than to believe they simply died due to a careless mistake made behind the wheel of a car." Dr. Johnson suggested.  
  
"Okay. But if that's the case, then why is it Sarah who remembers it this way and not Chloe? Chloe thinks her parents died in the car accident, it's Sarah who believes otherwise." Brady asked.  
  
Marlena spoke up, having just gotten off the phone. "Well, you need to understand how alternate personalities work. Humans, all animals, have a survival instinct. In stressful or dangerous situations we're always seeking an escape. But sometimes physical escape isn't possible, in which case a mental escape is used. An alternate personality is the mind's way of protecting the main, or original, personality during a severe trauma. The main personality escapes by shutting down - and a 'decoy' personality is created to endure the trauma."  
  
"Like that movie we had to watch in health class, Sybil? The girl with Multiple Personality Disorder? I think she had like, sixteen separate personalities." Belle offered.  
  
Marlena smiled at her daughter. "Exactly. Same basic phenomenon."  
  
"Great, does this mean there are fifteen other Sarahs waiting to pop up?" Brady asked.  
  
Marlena chuckled wryly. "Ah, no. I don't think so. A major factor in cases like these is when the originating trauma, that is the event that causes the personalities to form, occurs. In Sybil's case, the originating trauma occurred during the formative years of early childhood. Her core personality hadn't fully formed so the trauma caused a splintering of her psyche. Her personalities are actually fragments of her true self, representing various basic emotional states. I can only assume that the trauma, whatever it was, occurred much later in Chloe's life, after she had already fully formed. In those instances the number of alternate personalities is much less, usually only one or two. These alternates are usually alter egos of the core psyche and act out emotions deeply buried in the core subconscious."  
  
Marlena paused as a thought occurred to her. "Usually alternate personality disorder is caused by sexual abuse. As a result the alternate is a highly sexual being, since they were created to handle the abuse while the core personality shuts down. The deeper, gentler emotions are foreign to them; they only know the base emotions: lust, and anger. The concept of right and wrong has no meaning to them."  
  
Brady nodded slightly as the pieces fell into place. He looked to the caseworker for confirmation. "Earlier this evening, Sarah came onto me. Heavily. When I.turned her down, she attacked me. She's also attacked at least two other guys tonight. Lust and anger."  
  
Dr. Johnson nodded sadly. "Yes. During her years in foster care Chloe was abused. One of her foster fathers beat her, and another.raped her. He was a pedophile with an especially vile hobby; he liked to take pictures."  
  
Brady closed his eyes as sadness and bitter anger flowed over him.  
  
"Of course." Marlena spoke up softly. "So when she saw the pictures tonight of her naked body."  
  
"Yes. It reminded her, subconsciously, of the abuse she had suffered earlier. Sarah came out as a result."  
  
Brady was surprised at the relief he felt. {It wasn't me. It wasn't my fault.} He remembered what he had just learned and his momentary relief faded to be replaced by worry. How were they going to help her through this?  
  
"Which brings us back to Sarah." Dr. Johnson resumed. "It was she who first invented the story of the Lanes' murders, perhaps as an explanation for the dark rage she felt inside. The murders act as a desensitizer, they give her an excuse to act out her violent emotions. Sarah is a walking atomic bomb. She does what she wants to with no regard to others. She has no moral compass. Instead, her driving goal is to protect Chloe, and exact revenge on those she feels has harmed her. Her favorite target: father figures, for they represent the monsters who abused her in the past."  
  
"Oh God, no." Brady breathed. "I was telling Sarah about Chloe's life, because Sarah doesn't share Chloe's memories. She got very interested when I mentioned her parents, especially her stepfather, Craig. You don't think."  
  
"If she doesn't share Chloe's memories of the last few years, then she doesn't know why she's here. She will just think that it's business as usual." Dr. Johnson said.  
  
"Which means that Craig is in very grave danger." 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Call Me Sarah  
  
  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
  
  
Craig closed the door behind him. He wearily threw his keys down on a mahogany side table and shrugged out of his jacket. His recent phone conversation with Marlena replayed in his head. He had been driving home from the hospital when his cellular phone rang. He clicked on the hands free device.  
  
"Dr. Wesley speaking." he answered automatically. It was probably a member of his staff.  
  
"Craig, it's Marlena." He could hear the urgency in the woman's simple, no- nonsense greeting. He knew this wouldn't be a social call.  
  
"What's up?" he asked simply.  
  
"Craig, Brady just dropped Chloe off at your house."  
  
"I know, I'm on my way now."  
  
"Good. I want to prepare you for some unusual behavior you may see from Chloe."  
  
"Aaah, the whole 'Sarah' thing, right?" he remembered what he had learned about the dance.  
  
"Exactly. We've since learned a little more about the situation, and there is definitely another personality in charge of Chloe. I'm with Chloe's old caseworker now, and I hope to learn more about Sarah. We'll be there shortly, once we've decided upon the best way to help her. In the meantime, tread very carefully around her. We do know from her encounters with Jan and Mimi that she is somewhat unstable and has violent tendencies."  
  
"Oookay." Craig tried in vain to picture a violent Chloe. "So.what should I do?"  
  
"Try to pretend that everything is normal with her. Pay attention to what she says; it may provide us with important clues. Don't pressure her and if she appears angry or frightened, then back off immediately. She may look like Chloe, but she isn't. Just.be careful and we'll be there as soon as we can."  
  
Craig inhaled deeply as he stared at the rich carpeting in the foyer of their home. Just how was he going to manage this? There was still a great deal that he didn't understand about the situation, only that something was very wrong with his stepdaughter.  
  
He smiled wryly. He could still picture the day he and his wife and picked Chloe up from the orphanage. Of course he hadn't known then that she was Nancy's daughter that she had given up for adoption many years ago. It had been a long, rocky road to this point, and things were still far from perfect in their family. But it was a family still. And the girl who had once been an inconvenience, a stranger's child, was now his daughter, in the ways that count. His eyes fell on a picture of the three of them. He stared into Chloe's smiling blue eyes. He would do anything for his little girl.  
  
He glanced at the staircase that led to the upper floor. "Chloe, are you here?" he called, knowing full well the answer.  
  
"I'm up here, Craig!"  
  
  
  
"Damn." Marlena swore softly as she hung up the phone. "Craig's not picking up his cell." She bit her lip in thought. "He must already be at home, then. Come on. We've not a second to lose." The company didn't speak a word as they headed for the door.  
  
  
  
Sarah grinned at the light tapping at the bedroom door.  
  
"Chloe, can I come in?" a male voice called.  
  
She arranged herself against the pillows on her bed. "Come in, Craig." She purred.  
  
"Hey sweetheart, I'm so glad you're home. Your mother and I were very worried." he trailed off as he noticed the condition of Chloe's room. Strategically placed candles set off a warm glow while the scent of sandalwood incense floated through the air. He turned a puzzled gaze toward Chloe and was shocked by what he saw.  
  
Chloe lay reclined on her bed, seductively propped up on her elbows. She was scantily clad in a tiny nightgown of black satin. The fabric was so sheer that Craig could easily make out her full rounded breasts topped by hardening nipples. Her long legs were slightly parted, providing him with just a peak of her black panties, and her treasure mound just underneath.  
  
Craig's stunned eyes traveled over her body with a will of their own. He forcefully tore his gaze away from her and focused his eyes on her desk. {This is definitely not Chloe.} He wondered what he should do. He hadn't expected this twist. A faint blush stole onto his cheeks as he cleared his throat.  
  
"ahem. Chloe, I realize you were going to bed now, but I want to examine you - just to make sure you're okay."  
  
"Examine away, Doc." Sarah replied with a throaty whisper, making no move to cover herself.  
  
Craig kept his eyes averted. "Perhaps you should change into something a little more.appropriate."  
  
Sarah slowly moved off the bed toward him, her hips swaying hypnotically under the silky material.  
  
"What's the matter, Craig? Don't you like it?" she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, noting the tense muscles beneath the dress shirt.  
  
He stumbled backwards, caught off guard by Sarah's bizarre behavior. He was totally out of his element here and he wished violently that Marlena would arrive soon. "Um.it's very nice, Chloe." He replied meekly, as his mind raced to find a course of action.  
  
"You seem very.tense, Craig. Is something wrong?" she inquired with an innocent flutter of her thick eyelashes. "Have a hard day?" she stepped closer to him and once again initiated physical contact.  
  
"Uh.something like that." He captured the dainty hand that played with his tie. He decided to bite the bullet. "Listen Chloe." He began as he stepped away from her, firmly putting distance between them. He continued in his best authoritative father voice. "I don't know what's going on with you, but this behavior is inappropriate. I don't know what your plans for the evening are, but they will not include me."  
  
"Like you gotta choice in the matter." Sarah said darkly and pushed him up against the wall with one hand.  
  
Craig was floored by the strength that Sarah seemed to possess. {Unstable and violent. Got it.} He knew he was in swimming in murky waters now. {I've got to keep my head and try to calm her down.} He gave her his kindest smile. "Come on Chloe."  
  
"Ya know, I think I know what the problem is." Sarah interrupted. "You like to be the aggressor dontcha? You've asserted yourself so much that now you can't handle it when the tables are turned."  
  
She crept closer to her, the innocent smile now a menacing sneer. "Would it help if I cower? Curl up in a corner and cry, 'Please Daddy, don't hurt me'?"  
  
Craig's mouth dropped open. He was now completely lost. "What are you.?"  
  
"DON'T F*CK WITH ME!" she screamed as she backhanded him with her fist. She grabbed him by his tie and shoved him down onto the bed. She straddled his body before he could move.  
  
"Ah ah ah!" she tsked when he struggled. She lifted the hem of her nightgown and Craig could see a knife tucked into her panties. She slowly drew the dagger and pointed the business end at his throat. "I wouldn't move if I were you. I would hate for you to bleed all over my pretty bed."  
  
Craig ceased struggling and tried to calm himself. {The others will be here soon. I just have to stall her until they arrive.}  
  
Sarah smiled condescendingly. "Good boy." She shifted slightly to gain better access to his body. "Now lie there quietly and you may even enjoy yourself." Her free hand slid down his body to the crotch of his slacks.  
  
His breath hitched and he tried once more to reason with her. "Chloe, why are you doing this? I'm your stepfather! Your guardian!"  
  
She kissed him passionately on his slack lips. Her tongue trailed to his ear. "It didn't stop any of them." She whispered.  
  
Craig closed his eyes as ice settled over him. {oh my god. She was abused.} That would certainly explain her behavior, her reaction to the website. Tears involuntarily sprang to his eyes at the thought of the pain his little girl had endured. "Chloe-Sarah, I'm sooo sorry sweetheart, but I'm not like that. I would never hurt you like that." He pleaded, trying to reach the girl inside.  
  
"Sure you would. You have a d*ck, don't you?" She smiled as she continued rubbing his pants. "Yes, I can tell you do."  
  
Craig blushed crimson. Despite his strongest efforts, his body was beginning to respond to her ministrations. He struggled mightily. He had to stop this.  
  
Sarah stopped him with a flick of her wrist. The dagger dug into his throat and a drop of dark blood appeared. "Did you forget about Mr. Pointy?"  
  
Craig moaned in despair. "Chloe.Sarah.please don't do this."  
  
But Sarah just grinned evilly. "ooh, I like it when you moan my name like that." She unzipped his pants and moved to straddle his manhood. She froze then when she heard a car pull into the driveway. Her smile disappeared, leaving a blank mask of hate.  
  
"Well, I was going to have a little fun with you first, but now I think I'll just move straight to the big finish." She swiftly pulled out the nightstand drawer and pulled out the object inside.  
  
Craig suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of his own gun.  
  
"Say goodnight, Craig." 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Call Me Sarah  
  
  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
  
  
They stood on the front porch of the Wesley home. "We need to proceed with caution." Marlena told her companions. She looked at Brady and Belle. "I know that Chloe is very important to you, but just stay back and let Dr. Johnson and I do the talking. I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail and we can achieve our goal through communication." She looked at her husband soberly. "You're here in case we don't. Does everyone understand their role?"  
  
Brady nodded wordlessly. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Marlena stood the best chance of getting through to Chloe. He was still too emotionally overwhelmed by what he had just learned about her past. He didn't know if he could handle another intense exchange with her.  
  
He looked over at Dr. Johnson to find her loading a gun. "What the hell are you doing? You're not going to SHOOT her?!" he cried.  
  
"Of course not." She replied easily. "These are only tranquilizer darts. I will only use them as a last resort if she becomes violent." {Or,} she thought to herself with a slight smile, {if she begins to talk too much.}  
  
Marlena raised her hand to the doorbell. Suddenly a loud boom erupted from the house, rattling doors and windows.  
  
"That was a gun blast!" John shouted over the ringing in his ears. He kicked open the door and swiftly entered the house, alert for any possible attack. "It came from upstairs!" he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The others quickly followed.  
  
They paused in the upstairs hallway, afraid that they were too late, afraid of what they might find. John heard noises behind one of the closed doors and motioned to Chloe's bedroom. He moved to the door and frowned. On the other side of the door was a violently unstable girl who was obviously armed. {How do I defend against a gun?}  
  
"Here." Dr. Johnson whispered as she slapped a gun into his hand.  
  
He noticed that she held onto her tranquilizer gun. "This isn't.?"  
  
"No. It's the real thing."  
  
John nodded soberly. This had gotten very serious. It looked that in order to save Chloe, he may have to shoot her. He inhaled deeply and motioned to the others to get back. He readied himself and took aim and then kicked the door open. He was shocked, but relieved by what he saw.  
  
Sarah stood, tense arms outstretched with a smoking gun in her hands. Her gun was trained firmly on Craig who stood on the opposite side of the room. He had rolled off the bed as she was firing, so instead of killing him instantly, the bullet only pierced his shoulder. He clutched his shoulder with his free hand, trying in vain to stop the profuse bleeding.  
  
John immediately brought his gun to bear on Sarah, his stomach twisting with bile at the action.  
  
But Sarah barely seemed to register the weapon that was now pointed at her. Her eyes swept over the newcomers with a casual disinterest. "I see Boy Scout brought the cavalry with him." Her eyes flickered over John's face. She frowned slightly. There was something about him that seemed very familiar to her.  
  
"Drop the gun, Sarah." John ordered in a slow, low voice.  
  
That voice, she had known it once upon a time.  
  
"Nah, I don't think so." She brought her attention back to Craig and smiled evilly. "I'm not yet finished with it."  
  
"Yes you are. Yours is not the only gun in the room." John reminded her of the weapon he had trained on her.  
  
She studied him briefly. "Pull the trigger. I'm pretty certain I can shoot him dead before your bullet even hits me. Wanna test my theory?" she challenged.  
  
"You'll be dead, too."  
  
"And I care?" she shot back, almost daring him with her eyes to pull the trigger.  
  
John sighed inwardly. {Damn.} She had called his bluff. He wasn't about to shoot her, not if there was a chance that Craig could be shot too. He would have to shoot to kill, and he just couldn't do that. Their only shot now was to stall her, keep her talking. He motioned to Marlena with his eyes. Maybe she would succeed where he had failed.  
  
She stepped forward cautiously. "Sarah, I know you've been hurt a great deal by men in the past, but this isn't the answer."  
  
"Not the answer?! What is the answer? Lock them up for a few years, so they can get out and rape another little girl? Where's the justice in that? He's got to pay!" she screamed. She turned her gaze back to Craig's petrified form. She repeated softly, "You're going to pay."  
  
It was then that Brady noticed the slight trembling of Sarah's gun. He saw the subtle play of emotions on her tense face. Could it be that Chloe was somehow resisting Sarah? {Come on, Chloe,} he urged silently, {fight it.} {It's now or never,} he realized. {I've got to somehow reach her.}  
  
He took a small step forward. He spoke calmly, the nervous tension he felt absent from his rich voice. "Sarah. Listen to me. You do not want to do this, okay?" He risked a glance at Craig who had begun to shake from the shock of his injury. All color had fled from his face leaving him a sickly gray. Brady saw the rivulets of blood that continued to flow from Craig's shoulder despite his best efforts to contain it. {He doesn't have long.} He realized with a cold finality. {We've got to end this, now.}  
  
He turned his attention back to Sarah. "Sarah, look at me." He commanded softly.  
  
But she kept her unwavering gaze on Craig. Brady was encouraged though by the flicker of emotion in her cold blue eyes.  
  
"Look at me."  
  
Sarah slowly turned her head, feeling as if she were being magnetically pulled in his direction. She looked in his direction, but avoided meeting his piercing gaze. What was this hold he seemed to have over her?  
  
"Look in my eyes, Sarah."  
  
Finally, her resistance broken, she obeyed and looked into his eyes. Despite herself she began to study his deep blues. Concern and fear reflected back at her. As did sincerity. As she stared into his warm, honest eyes she felt her guard drop. She shook her head angrily - trying to shake off the effects of those eyes. She tightened her grip on the gun but was still unable to tear her eyes away from his.  
  
"Ya got something to say?" she barked angrily.  
  
Brady inhaled deeply. He had her attention. "Chloe and I have a very.interesting relationship. It's not a relationship actually.certainly not by conventional standards. In fact, you probably couldn't even call us friends. We fight. All the time. We can't even stand to be in the same room together."  
  
He broke off then. A small smile crept across his face as he remembered their battles. God, he couldn't wait to have his old Chloe back again.  
  
"Yet," he continued, "Even in our heated exchanges, the one thing we always were was honest. We can always count on the other to be brutally, cruelly honest."  
  
John watched his son with pride. {That's it, son. Keep her distracted.just a little bit more.} He slowly inched closer to Sarah, his eyes ever on the deadly gun in her firm grasp.  
  
But Sarah sensed the movement to her side and tilted her head slightly in warning as she readjusted her aim. "Your point?" she asked Brady.  
  
"My point is that despite the many.horrible things I've ever said to Chloe, I've never lied to her. And I'm not going to start now. I know you think Craig has.hurt Chloe, but Sarah, nothing could be further from the truth. Sometimes I think he's the only person Chloe even likes in this town."  
  
"A while back, I spent a lot of time in the hospital where Craig works. Anyway, the one thing that I could count on to happen - almost on a daily basis - was for Chloe to get into a huge fight with her mother, Nancy. (chuckled) It was always over the same thing. 'Oh boo hoo, you abandoned me - Oh boo hoo, you won't tell me about my father.'"  
  
"You heard that?" Craig asked through his weak haze.  
  
"Well, your office was nearby and I'm sure you've noticed that Chloe has quite a set of lungs on her. Her voice carries quite a distance."  
  
Craig smiled dazedly. "Yeah, she certainly does."  
  
Sarah noticed the tender expression on Craig's face and frowned slightly. Was it possible she was wrong? Her gun dropped a little.  
  
"Is there an end to this story somewhere?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. You see, no matter how upset Chloe got, with her mother, with life in general - Craig has always managed to calm her down and cheer her up. She genuinely likes Craig. Listen, if I thought for one moment that Craig had done anything to hurt her, I'd pull the trigger myself. But he hasn't. You said it yourself, you don't have her memories, you don't know what has been going on in her life. Isn't possible that you're wrong about this?"  
  
"I don't know." She bit out finally. "I'm tired."  
  
"I know you're tired, and I know you're just protecting Chloe, but she doesn't need protecting. She's happy here. I mean look at us, we're all here because we care about her. Chloe has friends now, and a family. She didn't have that before. She's happy. You don't have to protect her. Not anymore."  
  
Sarah stared at Brady as tense seconds passed. Beads of sweat dripped down John's forehead while Craig fought to simply remain conscious.  
  
But of all the anxious people gathered in the small room, none was more nervous than Celeste. She stood ready to take Sarah out, if at any moment she were to begin saying the wrong things. She smiled darkly. So far it seemed as if Fortune was with her. Sarah had not remembered or said anything suspicious. And now it seemed as if the standoff was nearing an end.  
  
Sarah sighed deeply and nodded. "Okay." She lowered her gun and John moved to take it from her hands. An electric thrill raced up her arm at his innocent touch. She closed her eyes and swayed. She felt as if something deep inside, long ago buried, was now trying to awake. She could almost hear something click inside her brain.  
  
She looked up at the tall man before her with new eyes. He had seemed so familiar before and now she knew why.  
  
"John?" she questioned. Her heartbeat quickened with a thousand rushing emotions. "John, it's you." She whispered and reached up to caress his face. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Paris."  
  
She never finished her sentence, but instead collapsed to the ground. The stunned occupants of the room could see a small dart sticking out of her neck.  
  
"What? Why did you.?" Brady questioned as he kneeled beside Chloe.  
  
"I apologize if I startled you, but I felt it was the wisest and safest course of action. Do not worry, she is merely sleeping. Perhaps we should focus our concern on him?" she questioned while pointing at Craig.  
  
Celeste smiled as she dialed his number. She stared at Chloe's prone form with satisfaction. As soon as they had reached the hospital, she had shut Chloe and herself off in a private room, requesting that no one enter.  
  
"Hello, Stefano. Sarah is in custody. I am taking care of the matter as we speak." She clicked off the cell phone. She approached Chloe's body, with a needle in hand.  
  
"I am sorry, Sarah dahling. But we cannot have you revealing what is inside that head of yours." 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Call Me Sarah  
  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
  
  
"How is Craig?" John asked as he handed a steaming cup of coffee to his wife.  
  
"Thanks. He is doing very well, actually. Fortunately the bullet missed the bone; passing through the fleshy part of the underarm instead. He is recovering from shock and they are replacing the blood he lost now. He is very fortunate. It could have been so much worse."  
  
John nodded soberly. He was still trying to calm the racing adrenaline in his body. The standoff with Sarah had been so emotionally intense that it exhausted him. But as hard as it had been for him, he knew it had been so much worse for his son. His eyes drifted to a few feet away where Brady sat nursing a cup of strong coffee. John smiled to see Belle trying valiantly to comfort her big brother.  
  
{One thing's for certain. Brady cares for Chloe.} He remembered how his son had been during the standoff, how he had talked to Sarah. {He actually got through to her.} He remembered proudly. He had been amazed by his son that night. Gone was the angry, bitter young man who had returned home from college. Instead Brady had been caring, concerned for the girl. Even his relationship with Marlena appeared to be improving.  
  
He chuckled wryly. {He's got it bad, and that's a fact.} He remembered his earlier conversation with Brady, just before the dance. Even then, hours before, Brady had been so sure that something horrible was going to happen to Chloe at the dance, and he was determined to stop it. When John called him on his feelings for Chloe, he tried to play it off as simple concern for one of Belle's friends. But John knew better. {There's no denying it now, kiddo. I just pray those two get a happy ending.}  
  
  
  
"I can't believe she shot you! My little girl shot you!" Nancy's voice rose hysterically.  
  
"I'm fine, Nancy." Craig replied weakly as the nurse bandaged his shoulder. "See, just a minor surgery to repair the damage."  
  
"You still haven't told me what happened. Why did she do this to you?"  
  
Craig inhaled deeply, remembering all that he had learned that horrible night. "I'll tell you later, okay Nancy? Right now, I just want to check on Chloe."  
  
  
  
"Hmmm" John pondered aloud.  
  
"John?" Marlena asked.  
  
"I just remembered something Sarah said earlier. She called me John."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"How did she know my name? If Sarah has none of Chloe's memories then how did she know who I was?"  
  
"Perhaps your name was mentioned during the standoff." Marlena suggested as she rubbed her tired eyes.  
  
John frowned. "Maybe. But it still doesn't explain that whole bit about Paris." He shook his head. "There was just something about the way she said my name. It reminded me of someone from a long time ago." He murmured softly.  
  
"Who?"  
  
John shook his head as if shaking off his troubling thoughts. "Nothing. Nobody. It's been a long night." That had to explain it. Because what he was thinking unnerved him. The way she had said his name, the way she had made him feel. There was only person who had ever made him feel that way. And she was dead.  
  
"I wouldn't give much thought to anything Sarah says at this point, John. You saw how unstable she is."  
  
"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, placing an arm around his wife's shoulder. "I just hope it's over."  
  
  
  
"So, is it real?" he asked as he adjusted his black mask.  
  
She smiled with devilish delight. "Yes." She purred. "Do you see those brush strokes? It's his one of a kind, signature style. It is the reason why this painting is so valuable. And the reason why we're here." She winked at her partner.  
  
"Music to my ears." He said lowly as he nibbled on her neck.  
  
Her large brown eyes lost focus as her senses thrilled to life. "You do realize that we have a job to do." she murmured.  
  
He checked his watch. "Eighteen.five minutes before the security systems come back online. Plenty of time." He smiled as his lips settled deeply on hers.  
  
"John" her moan echoed with desire.  
  
His reply was equally passionate. "Gina"  
  
Celeste injected the clear liquid into the unconscious girl's arm. She smiled as the girl's eyelids fluttered. "Come on, dahling. It is time to wake up."  
  
The dream faded as Sarah regained consciousness. She sat up on the examining bed and looked around the room, mild confusion written across her face. Her eyes finally came to rest on Celeste.  
  
She frowned slightly. "You? What are you doing here? And where is 'here'?" She looked around her in confusion. "Is Grandfather here? I want to speak to him." She looked down and noticed the green hospital smock. "And please find me something decent to wear. My goodness, what am I wearing?" She took off the smock to find that she only wore a negligee underneath. {Hmm, I've obviously been having a good time.}  
  
Celeste simply looked at Sarah with an expression of concern on her face. {So she has fully awoken, then. She has regained all of her former memories.} She decided to test Sarah. "Do you know who you are?" she asked the girl.  
  
"Of course, Celeste, and yes, I recognize you despite that ridiculous disguise. I am Chloe Michele Dimera. Now would you please tell me what I am doing here? And where is Grandfather?"  
  
"I'm sorry dahling, but Stefano is not here. He is.away. And as for where you are, you are in a hospital."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
Celeste hesitated momentarily. "You were in a slight accident and now I'm going to give you something to make you sleep for a little while."  
  
"Well, okay." She replied simply and held out her arm. She didn't wince when the needle pierced her skin. A very short time later and Chloe's eyes clouded over and become dull. She stared blankly in front of her and Celeste knew that she was in a deep hypnotic trance.  
  
Celeste shined a flashlight into the girl's eyes. {No change. Good.} "Now listen carefully Chloe. When I count to three you will awake and you will cease to be Chloe Dimera. You will once more become Chloe Lane. Your parents are Nancy and Craig Wesley and you live here in Salem. You will remember none of the events that transpired this evening. Nor will you remember any of the recovered memories of your past. You also will not know me. Do you understand?"  
  
Chloe nodded dazedly.  
  
"Good. Now hear this and remember it in the most secret part of your mind. As the majestic Phoenix is reborn from its ashes, so will you rise and bring glory to the house of Dimera." A slight smile formed on Celeste's face.  
  
"But not yet, my dear. One, two, three."  
  
"She's going to be okay." Belle said with a confidence she didn't feel. She looked over at her big brother and studied his face. As usual his handsome features were frozen in a hard, expressionless mask. Yet she knew him well enough to know that strong emotions whirled just beneath the calm surface. She searched for the right words to say to comfort him, but they all sounded trite and insincere. Besides, Brady was never really one for words. It was the action that mattered to him. So she simply reached over and squeezed his hand as they sat waiting together in silence.  
  
Brady for his part was barely aware of his sister's presence. He was too absorbed in dark thoughts and darker images. {"During her years in foster care Chloe was abused. One of her foster fathers beat her, and another.raped her."} Dr. Johnson's words played horribly in his mind. {My God. How can life be so cruel to one person? And I thought I had it bad.}  
  
He closed his eyes to block the images that sprang to mind. But his action was in vain. He knew that what he had witnessed that night would stay with him to the end of his days. A half-naked Sarah wildly screaming about the abuse she had suffered while she pointed a gun at Craig's head. Brady felt like he was still in shock from the emotionally charged encounter. {I just pray that it's over, and that somehow Chloe can get through this.}  
  
  
  
The occupants of the cramped waiting room came to attention as the examining room door opened. Dr. Johnson came out and flashed a relieved smile.  
  
"I have been successful. She is coming out of it now. You can see her, if you like." 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Call Me Sarah  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
"She's coming out of it now. You can see her if you'd like." Dr. Johnson stepped aside to allow Craig and Nancy entry into the room. They were followed by the other concerned occupants of the waiting room. Their eyes were immediately drawn to Chloe who sat upright on an examining table. Her eyelids were fluttering and beginning to open. Slowly she became more fully aware of herself, her surroundings. They waited with baited breath; half afraid that it wouldn't be Chloe, that Sarah had once again managed to defeat them.  
  
Chloe blinked her eyes and glanced around the room taking notice of her anxious audience. Her cobalt eyes landed on Brady's ice blue ones and she frowned in confusion.  
  
"Brady?" she looked at the others. "What's going on? Where are we?"  
  
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Their Chloe was back.  
  
Chloe met Brady's eyes again and was suddenly aware of her state of dress. She blushed and grabbed the hospital smock that lay beside her. She threw it around her shoulders as Brady averted his eyes.  
  
John spoke up then to his two children. "Now that we know Chloe is okay, perhaps we should leave and give her some privacy. Marlena, we'll be waiting outside." Marlena nodded her agreement. Belle quickly hugged her friend goodbye. Brady, though, simply walked to the door. After a quick look back at Chloe, he turned and left the room, followed by his father and sister.  
  
Chloe frowned slightly. He had uttered no word, yet Brady's eyes had spoken volumes. There had been such tenderness and concern reflected in the blue globes.  
  
Marlena moved in front of Chloe and peered into her eyes. "Chloe, can you tell me the last thing you remember?"  
  
Chloe closed her eyes in thought. After a brief pause she began haltingly. "I remember being at the dance..Phillip and I were crowned King and Queen.and then.then I saw." she trailed off, her large blue eyes luminous with unshed tears. "It wasn't a dram, was it? The pictures of me. and the website?" she asked sadly as Nancy rushed to comfort her daughter.  
  
"I'm afraid not, Chloe." Marlena answered. "It happened, as did many other things. But I think it best that we talk of them later. Right now, you should go home and rest. It is now morning after a very long night."  
  
Marlena poured herself a cup of coffee and stifled a yawn. It was now later that afternoon and a few hours of sleep had not been enough to make up for the previous night's lack. She handed another cup to Dr. Johnson who gratefully accepted.  
  
"As I was saying Dr. Johnson, I wish to begin therapy sessions with Chloe as soon as possible. Can you advise me on the best way to proceed?"  
  
Celeste's calm expression concealed the sudden rush of anxious adrenaline. {Therapy?! That will ruin everything.} "How do you plan on counseling her? She has no memory of last night's events, or of the abuse she suffered in the past."  
  
"I've dealt with memory repression before. I've been very successful with hypnosis; I'm fairly positive it would work with Chloe."  
  
"NO!" Celeste cried, startling Marlena. She calmed herself before continuing. "I mean, it is a good idea, but there is a reason why Chloe cannot remember her past. Her mind is protecting her from this knowledge, because she is not ready to deal with it yet. She simply cannot handle the memories. I know this from bitter experience. I tried hypnosis once and only succeeded in driving her into a state of catatonia. It is best for Chloe, for now, that she does not remember."  
  
"So you want us to do nothing? Let Chloe go on as she has in the past? What happens the next time she suffers a shock? I have to tell you, Dr. Johnson, I cannot go through this again. My children can't go through it again." Marlena thought briefly of Belle and Brady who had been most affected by the evening's events.  
  
"I know you and your family have had a rough night, and I am sorry that you were involved in this. But I do not see this happening again. Chloe has lived her for a few years now without any prior incident."  
  
"Yes, but just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean it can't happen again. Chloe is a fractured personality. Sarah's very existence is a sign that something is very wrong with her. This is a very precarious position. Who knows what shock could set her off? We can't let her go through life like this."  
  
Celeste inhaled deeply. "You're right, of course. But I am just asking for a little time, to let Chloe deal with this herself. You can keep an eye on her and if there appear to be any ill effects, then contact me and I will begin treatments immediately. I just don't want to risk injuring her further."  
  
Marlena sat quietly at her desk, pondering Dr. Johnson's words. After a few minutes of internal debate she sighed. "Fine, Dr. Johnson. I will trust to your experience in this matter and go along with your recommendation."  
  
Celeste breathed a sigh of relief. "However," Marlena continued, "how do we explain the night's events? Unfortunately quite a few people witnessed Chloe's breakdown and Sarah's emergence. I can trust my family not to say anything, but what about Sarah's victims, Jan and Mimi? How do we explain what Chloe did to them?"  
  
Celeste paused in thought. "Well, we will tell Chloe and any others that she has consumed a large amount of punch that had apparently been spiked. This reacted with a pain reliever that she has taken earlier. This combined with the shock of seeing the slides produced her 'unusual behavior' and is why she cannot remember anything."  
  
Marlena looked at the doctor incredulously. "You want to tell everyone that she was drunk?"  
  
Dr. Johnson smiled wryly. "I know it isn't a perfect solution, but it is better than Chloe believing that she had some kind of psychotic episode."  
  
  
  
"So does everyone understand?" Marlena asked the occupants of the small room. Her eyes fell on Belle and Brady. "You understand what this means. Sarah does not exist. What we learned about Chloe's life - it didn't happen. I know it's going to be difficult but you're going to have to forget it and treat Chloe as you always have." Her gaze fell on Brady as she said this. She knew that he would have a very hard time going back to the way things had been.  
  
She turned to Craig. "What have you told Nancy about last night?"  
  
"Not a great deal; I didn't tell her about Sarah, or Chloe's past. It was just too hard."  
  
"I feel it is best that she does not know. It would only upset her and she wouldn't be able to keep quiet about it."  
  
Craig nodded his agreement. The horrible knowledge had been hard enough for him to bear; Nancy would fall to pieces if she knew.  
  
"Good." Marlena replied. "I know I'm asking a lot, but it is the best thing for Chloe."  
  
  
  
It was later that evening when Chloe dangled her legs over the end of the pier. The warm summer breeze caressed her hair. She watched the lights play off the rippling surface of the water. She was trying to put order to the chaos of her mind. The image of that horrible slide kept playing in her mind. She kept seeing her naked body, hearing the mocking chants of her classmates, Ghoul Girl, Ghoul Girl, seeing the look of utter disgust in Phillip's eyes as he walked away from her.  
  
Shortly she felt a presence beside her on the pier. She looked up at the intruder. "Oh, it's you." She said with mild annoyance.  
  
Brady sat down beside her to her further aggravation. Chloe rolled her eyes. "Look, I am really not in the mood for a fight and I came her to be alone, so maybe you can find somewhere else to be?"  
  
Brady was momentarily taken aback until he remembered Marlena's words. {Of course, after everything I've been through last night, my feelings have begun to change. But for Chloe it's like nothing happened. She still sees me the same way as before. Maybe I can change that.}  
  
"Actually I'm just here to see how you are and because I wanted to tell you that I.didn't do it."  
  
"Do what? Oh, the slides? I know you didn't have anything to do with it. I was shocked and initially upset when Kevin accused you. I felt like all my friends had abandoned me. But deep down I knew that even you couldn't be so cruel. You wouldn't do that to me." She finished softly.  
  
"I wouldn't. I would never do anything to hurt you, Chloe." He said earnestly.  
  
Chloe was puzzled by the intense emotion in Brady's gaze. "Okay, I don't know who you are, but Belle's going to be pissed if you've done something to her brother."  
  
Brady laughed heartily, feeling joyous relief that the old Chloe was back. "What do you want me to do?" He asked laughing.  
  
"Insult me! Call me names! This 'kinder, gentler' you is freaking me out."  
  
"Well, if you insist.. Your singing is horrible, you're beyond ugly - and don't even get me started on what you're wearing." He teased as he noticed her all-black ensemble. "Chloe, 1996 called, they want their clothes back. How was that? Cause I can keep going."  
  
Chloe laughed at Brady's antics. "Now there's the Brady Black I know and loathe." Their laughter floated out over the water and then faded as they grew quiet.  
  
"So.how are you doing?" Brady asked.  
  
Chloe shrugged. "I feel fine except for the pounding headache which is apparently the result of the mother of all hangovers. What's worse is not remember what happened or what I did and everyone's acting all weird around me. I was just at dotcom and I ran into Jan, who by the way looks like she ran into a brick wall with her face - and she practically fled from me. She ran out of the store crying, 'Don't hurt me!' And then Jason's freaking out and asking me where his car is." she trailed off as she noticed Brady silently laughing. "Okay, spill. What do you know?"  
  
"Well let's just say you had a very interesting evening." He then went on to tell her about some of the lighter events of the night: punching Phillip, coming on to Jason and stealing his car, beating up Jan, and cutting off Mimi's hair. When he had finished Chloe stared at him blankly with her mouth agape.  
  
"Oh my God! Is there anyone in this town I didn't beat up? To top it off, I found out that I shot Craig last night believing him to be a burglar or something. Thankfully I'm a horrible shot and he's going to be okay but still.. And I cut off Mimi's hair? That girl is never going to like me."  
  
Brady chuckled. "No, probably not. Um, you also apparently broke into and robbed some stores in town - your lovely face was captured by surveillance cameras. Uncle Bo convinced the owners not to press charges, but you have to return the items and your parents are paying for the damages."  
  
Chloe felt overwhelmed by all that she had done. "It seems like some absurd dream."  
  
"Yeah, it was pretty bad for us too. Chasing you all night, all over town, worried out of my - our minds."  
  
"Sorry." There it was again, that deep caring in Brady's eyes.  
  
"I'm just glad you're back to normal. I mean, who else am I going to fight with?"  
  
"Marlena, Sami, your dad, pretty much anyone you come into contact with."  
  
"Ha ha. Well, at least I didn't punch out half of Salem."  
  
"Touché." Chloe laughed.  
  
"Um.speaking of people you've knocked unconscious, have you talked to Phillip?"  
  
"He called while I was sleeping a few times, I haven't yet returned his calls. I just don't know how I feel about him now. He abandoned me, when I needed him most. He actually believed that I had sold my body on the Internet for money. And where was he last night when I was going around beating the snot out of people?"  
  
"Out cold in the gym."  
  
Chloe laughed again. "I really hit him?" She asked with a deliciously evil smile.  
  
"Chloe, you cold-cocked him. He went flying and landed in the punch. It was really quite impressive."  
  
"I'm sure." She replied drolly. "I still care about him. I probably always will. But I don't know if he's right for me anymore. I've been feeling like this, for a while now and last night just proved it. I don't know. I think when he goes off on the class field trip this summer that I'm going to stay behind. We need some time apart."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea."  
  
"Going to be a kinda boring summer, though. All my friends will be living it up in Puerto Rico and I'll be back here. By myself. Alone. Nancy will probably want to 'bond'." Chloe shuddered at the thought.  
  
"I know what you mean. I was planning on starting work at Dad's company but Basic Black won't be operational for a few months yet. So I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands this summer. Of course I do have friends but I suppose I could spend some time with you. No point in both of us being bored." He said with a grin.  
  
Chloe gifted him with a sly smile. "You and me, huh? Looks like it's going to be a very interesting summer."  
  
"I take it you were successful?"  
  
"Very, Stefano. Sarah has gone back to sleep and Chloe has no memory of her past. I have also persuaded Marlena not to explore her past or her memories. Already things are back to normal."  
  
"Good. The next time 'Sarah' wakes, the good people of Salem won't know what hit them."  
  
The End  
  
Stay tuned for a special bonus NC-17 chapter!  
  
Author's Note: Yes, that's actually the end. But don't worry; I have a sequel in mind that will answer the questions about Sarah and Chloe's past and just how she fits in with the Dimeras. Who is Sarah and what plan does Stefano have in store for her?  
  
This fic was actually born from one scene. Shortly after first seeing LBD2001, the events of Chapter three came to mind basically as a Wouldn't it be cool if this had happened instead? The scene stayed in my mind for a long time - over a year now - but I never planned on doing anything with it, because I don't like to write one-shots, and I couldn't really think of a way to make this a full-fledged story with beginning, middle, and end.  
  
I had also had another fic in mind at one time. In it we find out that Chloe's parents weren't killed in a car crash like she remembers but were in fact murdered. Chloe's father was the heir and president of an old successful company and was very wealthy. He and his wife were killed by his younger brother who had wanted his inheritance. But it turns out that Chloe's father had left everything to Chloe in his will and Chloe had somehow disappeared at the time of the murders. So now, many years later, her uncle discovers her and Chloe finds out about her past and her inheritance but of course her uncle is trying to kill her and Brady must save her. When I started Call Me Sarah, I had planned on doing this fic as a sequel and so introduced the idea that Chloe's parents had been murdered.  
  
But then halfway through this story, the more I thought about the sequel, the more I didn't want to do it. I felt it would be too much like Truth out of Darkness, and quite frankly, the idea had lost its appeal. If someone else wants to write it, they are welcome to. But I had already hinted at her parents murders, and I still really liked that idea, so I played around with it and came up with the Dimera angle. And that's all I'm going to say at this point so I don't give away the sequel. Just think Dimeras, personality chips, and some surprise visitors in the form of dead people named Gina.  
  
Also, stay tuned for a special BONUS NC-17 chapter written for me by the Smut Goddess herself, Hope Grace! 


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